Too early, to too much news

Woke-up at 4:30 this morning – mind on the apartment's closing at 2.

So I posted, emailed, ran (with the rest of the upper westside's virtuous), then brought up R's NY Times on the way in.

(And showered- not a blog without the minutia.)

Then tried, have been trying, to get my head around the latest disaster to strike the hardest where it would hurt the most.

Islamabad, Jammu, Muzaffarabad, villages in the Hindu Kush. Possibly 40,000 dead but impossible to know with devastation so far flung. In Muzaffarabad, 90% of the buildings are destroyed - a full 90% of the city's population remain beneath the debris.

They're coming fast and brutal - the northeast got a little damp last weekend but, otherwise and for now, we're okay. We're lucky. We should be acting.

But - maybe someone can tell me - what are we to do?
Have sent money - via Unicef, MercyCorps and PACT.
Tried to read up and be informed.
Contacted friends who might have family in the area(s): of New Orleans, of Columbo, of Antigua, and now Islamabad.

But, I'm not:
Trained as a doctor
Fluent beyond high school romance languages and mother tongue.
An engineer or knowledgeable about construction.
I'm fit but not all that strong.

But I am:
Willing/able.
With the money to get where I might be needed.
With the money to purchase and carry supplies.
I can tell stories and I can record.

Tomorrow night will ask MH + Micah at their reading if that's really all it takes in this world and have I just been lazy.

They went to Iraq because they were appalled by the looting of archaeological sites, they went to New Orleans because they were in a car and ready to help and document.

If every willing individual was trained in basic medical skills, carried/delivered supplies, a laptop, a satellite phone and a camera, would that collective of the well intentioned be a help or a headless-hindrance to relief efforts?

And, if the willing are only good for writing checks, what other recourse is there?

C - Frustrated, ready to fly east, seeking advice.