Pathfinder International, a private non-profit organization started 50 years ago by a physician with ties to Maine, and continued with the support of his daughter Julia G. (Judy) Kahrl of Arrowsic, is making a huge difference in efforts to provide women and families in the developing world with access to contraception and quality reproductive health care.

Dr. Clarence J. Gamble created the program in 1957, using a substantial part of his wealth from Procter and Gamble ties, to support his conviction that contraceptives should be available globally.

On March 26 Kahrl and staff member Nancy Moorehead, who will come from the organization's headquarters in Watertown, Mass., will discuss the program, its current challenges, and how the result of the upcoming presidential election may influence U.S. foreign aid generally, and both domestic and international family planning programs in particular.

Kahrl and Moorehead will speak at 7 p.m. in the Porter Auditorium of the Skidompha library in Damariscotta. Their presentation will also include a five-minute video, prepared for Pathfinder's 50th anniversary banquet, and end with a question and answer period with the audience.

Citizens Offering New Alternatives (CONA), as part of its monthly speaker's forums, is sponsoring the event, which is free to the public, although donations are welcomed to help defray costs.

Gamble was the classic pathfinder, finding innovative ways to bring family planning to millions around the world in spite of economic, cultural and political barriers. His organization, working with many local partners in the developing world. has grown dramatically over the years and now employs some 550 persons in the United States and overseas, and has worked in more than 100 countries, serving the most vulnerable people, often under the most difficult situations.

Pathfinder International now has offices in Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Papua New Guinea, Viet Nam, Yemen, Moldova, Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.

The organization receives funding from private and government sources, both in the U.S. and abroad, and works with other planned parenthood groups. For information about the upcoming event call Wendy Ross Eichler at 207 549-3869.