... but he doesn't know the territory!

That's a line from the opening scene of the musical, 'The Music Man' by Meredith Willson. My family and I went to see it yesterday. (My son was in the cast.) And it started me thinking about Ghana and Nicaragua.

How can a play written over 50 years ago by a Julliard graduate about Iowa pride and stubbornness apply to starving people half-a-world away? How could a small-town Midwesterner understand a universal truth about world hunger... and then set it to music?

If you are not a student of musical theatre (and why aren't you?), you might not know that Mr. Willson wrote that song as a way to introduce his lead character, Professor Harold Hill, to the audience. You see, Professor Hill is a disreputable travelling salesman who gives other travelling salesmen a bad name. In today's business vernacular, he wouldn't know the target audience; their customs, value-system, beliefs, traditions, mores and history.

International relief organizations can suffer from the same disease. Don't misunderstand me. I believe there is a need for group that sweep in after a natural or geo-political disaster to provide immediate care. That can often mean the difference in people living one more day. But that approach's strength is its weakness. Because of their "transient" nature (and mission), the lasting benefit may not be felt. It can be like a pebble thrown in the ocean. Those closest to the entry point can feel and see its effect, but those farther away can not... and the ripples just don't last.

That's why there is the need for development organizations who commit to a region and a group of people for as long as they need. That's where real progress is made. Funds and trained staff are focused on an area until lasting change occurs. This growing self-reliance is the key to permanent improvement. That is the underlying theme to Greg Mortenson's book, Three Cups of Tea; One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time. Greg literally stumbled in to a Pakistani village and uncovered (discovered?) his way to defeat terrorism -- through education.

Self-Help International is a development organization dedicated to alleviating poverty and malnutrition by helping people help themselves. They certainly know the territory. Do you know them? www.selfhelpinternational.org