"Every disaster is different," says New Zealand disaster response manager Douglas Clark, as he tries to get his head around the best way to help people hit by whose lives were changed after the Solomon Islands.

The Dunedin man is an old hand at this, having been on more than 20 missions for the Red Cross. He was deployed to the Solomon Islands immediately after the tsunami struck. But even he can't predict what the damage will be.

"I would have expected that people would have drifted back to their homes and lives much more quickly, within a week or two - but in a lot of cases there's no sign of people wanting to move back. The unique thing about this disaster is the fear people have."

At a temporary camp above Gizo town, near the epicentre of the quake, Douglas meets a woman sleeping next to her own home, which looks undamaged.

She says that during the night she was so twitchy that she asked her husband to move their tarpaulin shelter further away from their house.

She's terrified that another big earthquake will topple the house.

Now she sleeps in her own garden but so far from the house that if it collapses, she'll be safe.

Many people have moved much further away from their homes, gardens and sources of income such as fishing. Life in these temporary camps, under tarpaulin, is not much fun, especially during the recent heavy rain.

Back in Honiara, Douglas drives out to the airport to check on the arrival of relief items from Malaysia and Indonesia. Solomon Islands Red Cross volunteers form a human chain at a cargo plane to unload 1,000 kitchen sets (with pots, plates, cups, knives and other eating essentials), 1,000 hygiene sets (with soap, towels, toothbrushes and toothpaste, sanitary napkins, shampoo and detergent), 600 tarpaulins and 20 tents.

More relief items are due to arrive the following day.

Today's plane load will be packed on to a ship berthed at Honiara harbour that is due to arrive in the Western Province in a day or so. The relief goods, bought with money donated by New Zealanders, will be delivered to people in need.

They will help people cope much better in their camps until they are ready to come home. As well as delivering immediate aid, including food and water in the early days, Red Cross is considering longer term programmes.

Victoria Fray, an Auckland environmental engineer, was also deployed to the Solomon Islands as a Red Cross water and sanitation engineer. She has been looking into sustainable water and sanitation programmes.

"This could be a really good opportunity for a community-based solution, where the local people get together with the Red Cross to understand all the different health risks they face in their village. It's no good the Red Cross swooping in to build fancy latrines without first getting community buy-in," says Victoria.

"People have to decide for themselves what their priorities are, or they will never use them."

The team has a strong kiwi flavour. Douglas and Victoria are joined by Nelson-based relief coordinator Andrew Macalister. They have been working as part of an international team with aid workers from Tonga, Australia and France.

Other longer term programmes are likely to include health and assistance with reconstructing houses.

Douglas says the programmes will have to be implemented quite carefully. Red Cross may build a sample house in a village, with some features like diagonal supports between the piles and the floor to make them more quake-resistant.

"We'll provide them with the materials and tools and the expertise but they will be responsible for building to the standard," says Douglas.

He thinks these community programmes could have wider, non-material benefits.

"I think this is very good therapy," he says. "We've got a real problem with psychological trauma. If people are doing something constructive, doing something together, it will bring the community closer."