NZ Army medics provide support at the PGG building in Christchurch after the Earthquake - NZ Defence Force. The catastrophic earthquake in Christchurch is something that many of us will fail to comprehend for a very long time. For those living in Christchurch and suffering the brunt of the quake the adjustment is more than an emotional or intellectual mind shift. What we do know is that once the dust settles and the clean up begins that life for the majority of the people in New Zealand will go on as normal. The city of Christchurch was already dealing with the emotional turmoil caused by the September 2010 quake. Experience tells us that the ongoing trauma when the immediate crisis subsides and the adrenalin stops flowing, is the time that people start to feel isolated, vulnerable and have to confront the actual realities of life never returning to the way it was. In many people this manifests itself as "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder". This will not always evidence itself in the externalisation of emotion written on the brave public faces of those affected; it will be more subtle and more personal but just as devastating – the flashbacks, depression, sense of loss, grief. In order to ‘move on' people need to be on a firm path. For many the foundations have been taken from them in more than just a physical way and they will feel as if they are trapped in quick sand. There is little that any of us outside of the physical area affected by the quake area can do to relieve the immediate suffering of people in Christchurch. The majority of whom will be in survival mode, not only for themselves, but they will also be looking out for protection to their families, friends and communities. The sense of community and commonality galvanises people and provides a sense of purpose. This sense of purpose and protection is an essential part of our coping mechanisms as human beings. In the medium term some of the things we can do to help Christchurch is make plans to invest our time and our money in the local community. We are already affected by the downturn in the economy and when we compound this with a massive localised disaster then we need to refocus on keeping it local. By investing in local businesses we have the opportunity through our spending to help business and their employees rebuild their lives. So instead of the extra jaunt overseas this year, let us focus on rebuilding the regional economy of Canterbury. Right now there is enough water, enough food, and enough fuel coming into the region, and the resilience of the people involved on the ground will help unify and strengthen the Christchurch community in the immediate days and weeks. The other major infrastructure will take time to rebuild. Although for those of us not personally affected, our own emotional response to the crisis is to ‘do something now' the reality is that the biggest difference we can make to the overall recovery is not what we do now, but what we do in the coming months and year. This is a tragedy of epic proportions and the memory and sense of loss will endure for a very long time. Our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those people who have lost so much. The challenge for all of us is not to forget the intensity of this moment. People in Canterbury will need us to connect with them and be valued by us. Their lives will return to a more even keel when they see people from New Zealand visiting, spending their money, and including them back in the normal throng of life. There would be nothing worse than to have to live through the crisis such as this, only to find at the other end of it that their jobs are not secure, and the ‘outside' world has put it behind them. So in two, three, or four moths time, when we start to be distracted once again by the news of the rich and famous or some other tragedy in the world captures our attention; remember this moment, and do one thing more for the people of Christchurch. - Vaughan Meneses is the General Manager of OUTLine. Vaughan Meneses - 25th February 2011