Susanne Janson lost her daughters, her ex-husband and three other members of his family to tsunami in 2004.

"When I realized I wouldn't bring them back home alive, I wanted to die," said Janson, 47.

In March 2005, Janson and Forssell, her partner, returned to Thailand as volunteers at the orphanage, and in 2006 they made their stay permanent. They sold their Swedish apartment and became the managers of Barnhem Muang Mai, a care home that has helped more than 100 children to date.

"They had suffered so much more than I suffered. Here, you had people that lost children, homes, everything, and they were strong. So I think that affected me, and their kindness to me was such that I wanted to give something back."

In June, Barnhem achieved an important milestone. Fame, a teenage boy who's lived at the home since 2006, started college. After he passed his entrance exam, Janson found a Swedish family to sponsor his studies. She is excited about what it means for his future and that of the other children in her care.

"We can't decide what they should do with their lives," she said. "But by helping them with education, we hope that we can help them have a choice."

"We hope we can help the other kids understand that they actually can change their lives."

While Janson has made a new life and family for herself in Thailand, her daughters -- whose remains eventually were found in Khao Lak -- are never far from her mind.

"I think I feel closer to them here than I do in Sweden. I don't know why," she said. "I think of them every day. My daughters loved their life. And I wanted to show them that I would survive this. And if (I) could help my new children to love their lives, at least one good thing came out of this." - Susanne Janson