Earthquake Relief Fund Committee begins...

Tonight, the Earthquake Relief Fund Committee met for the first time. I view our purpose as the multilateral determination of projects to assist in survival and a return to sustainable life in affected areas.

We established the town of Siana as a focal point for both short- and long-term assistance because:
1) As of Nov. 4, the town had not yet received aid from agencies; it is 0.5 km from the roadside.
2) The town is far enough away from major cities (i.e. Muzaffarabad and Islamabad) that it is unlikely to receive much aid in the future.
3) The town is small enough to allow our limited donations to make a major difference in the town's future.
4) We have workers in our school with families in the town that allow us to monitor progress and communicate clearly with local families.

The town of Siana contains about 24 houses and about 200-300 people (my own rough estimate). Two middle schools (one only girls) and one high school completely collapsed.

I estimate 60-70% of houses, 50+% of stores, and 100% of schools were destroyed.

Now, the recovery comes. It has already begun.

The people have crowded in remaining homes. The people have built tents of corrugated steel sheets with wood reinforcements. These shelters don't provide insulation but they shield the wind and allow essential fires to burn inside (unlike tents).

The efforts to recover will be at the grassroots level. I think ISOI must be careful to respect the culture of these people as we provide assistance. A body of experiences from the Peace Corps, in Ghana, screams of the importance to work with the people rather than simply rather than directing aid at them. This will be a real challenge for me given all of my commitments at ISOI and time for my personal sanity.

FYI: I'm also on the subcommittee for expenditure approvals. For now, small funding is being approved to raise large funding. For example, we sold Eid cards as a fundraiser but needed funds beforehand to print the cards. The minor expenses for the Earthquake Relief Concert allowed for us to earn a huge profit, also.

More details as they become public...

***Update: Early praise from the ISOI community***
Thanks for the info!
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Scott:
You have done some great work in your time here and nothing more important than this. It sounds like a brilliant plan and I take my hat off to you in recognition of your commitment and hard work.
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This sounds a great plan. Thanks to the Earthquake Relief Committee for guiding us and coordinating the earthquake relief.