"We want to help the world up...with a hand reaching out to up lift not with a hand-out."~ Samantha Harris, Founder.

The Mission of Harris International

Our Work: A Better Future For All

We live in an era that has seen dramatic change in recent years -- an era that is rapidly evolving. Globalization, technology, HIV/AIDS, rapid population growth, terrorism, conflict, weapons of mass destruction and failing states -- these are just some of the issues shaping today's world. Most of these issues - both good and bad -- do not recognize national borders. They affect us directly and are dramatically altering the way in which we think and operate.

But we still face an uncertain future. In many developing countries, HIV/AIDS and health issues are having a dramatic impact on social cohesiveness and economic strength, blocking the very development goals we seek. Virtually all the new democracies in the world today are fragile; others are democracies more in name than substance. Nearly a quarter of the people living in developing countries, or about one billion people, live in absolute poverty. There are a host of other threats - ranging from terrorism to infectious disease and violent conflict - that challenge us and the developing nations we seek to help.

Harris International works with agencies such as USAID and the International Red Crosss in the fields of agriculture, democracy & governance, economic growth, the environment, education, health, global partnerships, and humanitarian assistance in more than 100 countries to provide a better future for all.

The United States has a long history of extending a helping hand to those people overseas struggling to make a better life, recover from a disaster or live in a free and democratic country. It is this caring that stands as a hallmark of the United States around the world -- and shows the world our true character as a nation.

U.S. foreign assistance has always had the twofold purpose of furthering America's foreign policy interests in expanding democracy and free markets while improving the lives of the citizens of the developing world. To achieve these goals, non-profit and federal agencies must work collectively with private foundations and firms to reach these lofty goals. Harris International in proud to shift its focus towards this common mission.

Organization Structure and Missions

Harris International has transformed itself virtually overnight from a multi-national investment and trading firm to a powerful force of aid and assisstance around the globe under the leadership of the company's founder and Chief Executive Officer Ms. Samantha Harris.

 Ms. Harris has combined her company's influence in the international arena with her governmental contacts and partnerships in order to create a more stable resource for world-wide aide; a foundation not tied to national or international budget constraints, a funding source that will work as a 'stop-gap' for poorly funded projects and a supply the often needed transportation and man-power for many of the missions of hope and need. Harris Inc employees a wide variety of people, many of whom have dedicated themselves to the foundations ethics by preforming tours with AmeriCorp or the Peace Corp prior to coming to work for Harris Inc. It is her hope that this foundation will not only improve conditions across the globe and build a 'true sense of global union', but also serve as a proto-type for other international business to follow.

OUR MISSIONS OF HOPE

Benin

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Cambodia

Cuba

Eritrea

OUR WORK IN BENIN

The Harris International mission to the western African country of Benin was our first mission established; with an overriding objective to help consolidate both economic restructuring and the democratization process in Benin. The mission's program focuses primarily on developing Benin’s human resource base through improving the quality of and access to basic education and strengthening family health services in both the private and public sectors. In addition, USAID/Benin has a cross-cutting objective which aims to improve democratic governance through democratic institution building, promoting the enabling environment for private initiatives, and strengthening civil society’s role in decision-making.

Our mission in Benin is under the direction of Harris Inc.'s one time Chief Financial Officer Gloria Tellford.

OUR WORK IN BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

Harris International has pledged $76.7 million over the next 5 years for the reconstruction of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In support of the Dayton Peace Accords, Harris assistance is helping to create a stable, democratic post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina with a functioning free market economy. Other U.S. support is being provided in the areas of demining, police training, national and municipal elections and the War Crimes Tribunal. In addition, the U.S. Government has delivered over $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to the former Yugoslavia since 1991. Harris activities are focused on four objectives:

1. Restoring private sector productive capacity to restart production quickly and create immediate self-sustaining employment.

2. Establishing a policy and institutional framework conducive to the emergence of a market economy, by supporting rapid privatization, critical macroeconomic reforms, sound fiscal policies, and a viable banking system.

3. Repairing war-damaged infrastructure to facilitate refugee return and reactivate the local economy.

4. Strengthening democratic institutions that promote a multi-ethnic society and political pluralism by fostering an independent media, free and fair elections, a responsive and transparent government, citizen advocacy, and a professional independent judiciary.

OUR MISSION IN CAMBODIA

Cambodia ranks among the poorest countries in the world. It has the highest infant, child and maternal mortality rates in Asia, and faces the most serious HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region. The country also struggles with the legacies of war, genocide, foreign occupation, and corrupt government. U.S. objectives in Cambodia include promoting democratic practices, good governance, protection of human rights, and fighting disease and poverty.

Cambodia faces significant challenges in its efforts to spur desperately needed economic growth, private sector investment and higher employment. Roughly 80 percent of Cambodians are engaged in subsistence agriculture, a sector with insufficient productivity to provide jobs for a labor force that is growing at more than five percent annually. Its two principal growth sectors - garments and tourism - employ no more than a tenth of the labor force. The genocidal Khmer Rouge regime (1975-79) and occupation by Vietnam (1978-89) had a devastating impact on Cambodian institutions and human capacity. Cambodia has achieved some modest economic successes, recently meeting its overall targets for revenue, expenditures and domestic financing while maintaining low inflation and a stable exchange rate. Its trade regime has opened up, resulting in Cambodia being fast-tracked for ascension to the World Trade Organization this year.

Cambodia's education system faces high pupil/teacher ratios, averaging 53 to 1. A recent UNESCO report estimated its adult literacy rate at 37 percent. Its primary school completion rate for both males and females also remains low.

Health conditions remain poor for most Cambodians. Life expectancy is in the mid-50s, population growth is 2.5 percent, and infant mortality is 95 per 1000. Half of all children under the age of five are malnourished, and 20 percent are severely stunted. Cambodia's high rate of HIV/AIDS infection is estimated at 2.7 percent of the general population, straining both its weak health care system and its economy.

Since the Paris Peace Accords in 1991, which ended decades of civil war, Cambodia established important governing institutions, including the National Assembly and Senate, two national elections, in 1993 and 1998, and the country's first multiparty elections. The National Assembly election in July 2003 will be the third since the Accords were signed. Such achievements, however, have been marred by ongoing human rights abuses and corruption, which continue to threaten the populace. Cambodia continues to traffic in persons at an alarming rate, and is currently ranked as a Tier 3 country, the worst ranking given by the State Department's Global Trafficking in Persons Report. Due to political violence in 1997, the U.S. government suspended and later terminated all foreign assistance to Cambodia except for NGO-administered humanitarian and democracy programs. Whether the upcoming elections will be free and fair depends on progress on issues including voter intimidation, equal access to radio and television for all political parties, and fair and impartial decisions by the National Election Committee.

Harris International is working in the following areas:

1. Good Governance and Democratic Institutions

Harris' democracy program supports Cambodian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and national political parties. Years of US support have fostered the growth of strong, motivated NGOs. The new democracy strategy will strengthen their capacity to advocate for democratic reforms at the national level, human rights, and anti-trafficking reforms. Harris supports political parties that meet international standards for transparency and accountability, and promotes the achievement of a level playing field for all of them in the upcoming national elections in July 2005. Harris also supports efforts by the Ministry of Women's and Veterans Affairs and Cambodian and international NGOs to prevent the trafficking of women and children.

2. HIV/AIDS and Family Health

Harris International's health program supports the strong commitment of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RBC) to increase access to health services, and to mitigate and prevent the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Assistance programs have contributed to significant reductions in infant, child and maternal mortality, as well as in HIV/AIDS prevalence significantly among key target groups and the general public. A new integrated health/HIV/AIDS program will build on innovative outreach and development approaches for the prevention and management of HIV/AIDS, and for improved coverage for child survival and maternal health programs.

3. Education

Basic education activities focus on the relevance of the primary school curriculum for Cambodian children, and strengthening the school system to use new student-centered teaching methodologies. Harris International collaborates well with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, and participates in an effective donor coordination mechanism for this sector.

OUR WORK IN CUBA

Cuba is one of the most economically and politically repressed countries in the world. The Heritage Foundation's 2003 Index of Economic Freedom, released November 12, 2002, places Cuba 155th among the 156 countries--just above North Korea--at the bottom of all "economically repressed regimes" in the world. Freedom House lists the Government of Cuba (GOC) among the 11 "most repressive regimes" in the world, with failing scores on political rights and civil liberties. The reasons are apparent. The GOC violates fundamental human rights and directly controls mass media, trade unions, universities, and all formal economic activity.

Dr. Juanita Phish unloading the latest food supplies from Harris Inc only steps away from Castro's seat of government.

OUR MISSION IN ERITREA

Harris International, in partnership with the east African Government of the State of Eritrea, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations, is proud to contribute to improving the lives of the Eritrean people through our strategic areas of intervention. Harris/Eritrea's Integrated Strategy Plan, which covers the period from 2005 to 2010, focuses on making progress in three areas: health care as well as HIV/AIDS services; creating jobs through small and medium business development in rural areas; and increasing public participation in the country's development. The mission is overseen by Dr. Bayone Pau, Harris International's African Events Coordinator.