Dec

The location:

A significant island country in the South Pacific.

The people:

Over 50% under 15 years of age

Ethnic mix of indigenous South Pacific tribes, Asian (Chinese primarily), African, French, Spanish, and since World War II, a sizeable number of Americans.

Religions – Indigenous 50%, remainder closely divided between Christian, Buddhist, and Islamic.

Languages – Numerous indigenous, as well as English, Spanish, and French.

The economy:

Petroleum, coffee, cocoa, spices, bananas, sugar, tourism, fishing, and natural gas, as well as inexpensive, quality labor.

Disasters threats:

Tidal waves/tsunami

Typhoons/Hurricanes

Tornadoes

Floods

Fires

Volcanic eruptions

Earthquakes

HIV/AIDS

Petroleum spill

High risk for avian flu

Terrorism, from within and outside the country

Helping organizations:

Governmental service – local, state, and national levels—including the military

Community based organizations

Faith-based groups

Businesses

THE SITUATION:

After Alex’s introduction to Kava, reviewing the potential risk associated with our location, and thinking I’m showing Alex my great observation skills, I declare, “That’s why the mess all around here. Some disaster hit this place. Right?”

Alex’s eyes spoke, “No kidding, slugger.” But kinder and more informative words came from Alex’s mouth that said, “No, not some disaster. It was some disasters—fastballs being thrown from all sides, so to speak.”

I asked my first stupid question, “What kind of disasters have they had here?”

With some chiding, but great patience, Alex replied, “Don’t they teach about things that happen in the rest of the world at your college, or did you get hit by a pitch?”

“They do,” I answered, “but like everybody else, I guess, it if doesn’t affect me directly, I don’t pay much attention.”

“Every day, in many ways, you’re affected directly by things that happen in many parts of the rest of the world,” Alex responded, this time with less patience. “I bet what happens in Kava impacts your life at least three times a day, every day. You may not get all the fly balls, but you’re still in every part of the game”

“What happened here was…..

“How did the folks deal with all that?” I interrupted with amazement.

“Too much, too many, and over too short a period,” Alex answered with sigh. “Add to that the diverse composition, beliefs, attitudes, and ideologies, and you’ve got a melting pot boiling over.”

“Or, everybody thinks they can pitch, eh?” as I took a swing at metaphoric statements.

“Good one,” Alex stated. “Yep. Now, let’s get to work on our game plan.”

THE TASK:

Alex began to define our mission and my assignment:

“Our company is considering establishing a greater presence here in Kava,” Alex started. “That greater presence could take various forms, based on what’s good for our company and what’s good for the people of Kava. You and I get the chance to analyze, synthesize, and prescribe regarding that decision.”

“Because so many disasters happen here?” I questioned. “I think I can write up this recommendation in two words, �Forget It’”.

Again with great patience, Alex explained, slowly and deliberately, “I guess you can just take your ball and go home. But our organization chose to play in this game and you chose to join our organization. If you really want to play, you will have to take your turn at bat. There are no designated hitters in this game.”