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Is something risked by playing the same games that politicians do?

When I was more amenable to politics I sometimes had the turd of "You should be a politician" thrown at me. Even though a retrospective, I must assume I have an aptitude toward playing the games of a politician. However, I know now what I risk in indulging politics—As pulling a nail does for the finger, I feel the equivalence in conscience and spirit; that is, something of myself is destroyed, a protection is removed, I am injured, liable to infection and pained.

How equipped are anarchists for dealing with problems conceptualized in the order of thousands of people, or even hundreds or tens for that matter?

As an anarchist I am inclined to act in a certain direction, and if asked to aid I will likely try. When it comes to how equipped I am, I am suspicious of inferences extending beyond individuals and their appeals. Having no resource beyond conceit to suggest a problem can be dealt with conceptually, I can only be sure of my actions, and those I am with, to evaluate any resolution.

How do we prevent our projects from falling into pure service provision or evaporating as soon as the next big headline appears (if not even before)?

As far as I can tell, some anarchists have no desire to prevent themselves falling into pure service provision or evaporation. It seems a symptom of the wider disease that service appears catharsis for deferred more pointed attacks.

Do anarchists even have a role in providing relief to strangers?

Assuming the stranger is the individual I have no experience of, it is probable I provide some ignorant yet serendipitous relief as a result of my acting/role (though with equal probability accelerating the torment of others).

Though the last 3 questions of this TOTW made the explicit request, I don't feel enthused enough to answer each directly. Instead I'll assert my understanding that intervening in crisis is inherent to the nature of being anarchist, and that increased abstraction and remoteness malign more immediate actions.