Prince Harry has praised the “amazing” efforts of the people of Ukraine working for the landmine clearing charity.
Duke of Sussex Had a video call with two women who have decided to stay in Ukraine with the Helo Trust, which has been approving military ordinances in the Eastern European country since 2016.
Princess Diana Worked with the Halo Trust in Huambo, Angola, in the fight against landmines during the 1990s. At the time, his support for an international treaty banning the use of explosive devices was seen as a political stance, but it was widely regarded as one of his greatest humanitarian efforts.
The Duke of Sussex held a video call with two women who have decided to stay in Ukraine with the Helo Trust, which has been approving military ordinances in the Eastern European country since 2016.
Prince Harry virtually met Olesia (left), Helo’s communications manager in Ukraine, and Maryna (right), 25, the charity’s monitoring and evaluation officer.
Princess Diana wearing a bombproof hat during a visit to a mine in Huambo, Angola, 1997
Prince Harry, who has served as the charity’s patron and traveled to Angola to see the work they are doing, met Olesia, the communications manager for Helo in Ukraine, and Marina, 25, the charity’s monitoring and evaluation officer. .
Harry asks the pair how the past few weeks have been, to which Maryna replies: ‘Life has been turned upside down. Sometimes I feel like it’s just a nightmare and I’m going to wake up soon.
‘And now we’re all with our family and we have a three year old and every time we hear the sirens my nephew asks me “what’s up” and “when will the war end?”
Harry further asks whether the two women had the opportunity to leave Ukraine when the war broke out.
Maryna said: ‘I decided to stay in person because it was too vague to think about what was happening right now.
‘We don’t know what will happen tomorrow and what is the right decision but we are now.’
Harry praises volunteer work in Ukraine, says: ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, keep saving lives’
Olesya said: ‘It’s really, really important because right now we look at the use of ammunition and mines, so we need to inform people about how to identify explosive devices and even parts of them. is required. needed so that adults and children can be safe.
Ending the call, Harry said: ‘I know you will continue to do what is so important to Hello, your families and your country.
‘Thank you for being so brave and doing such a wonderful and good job.
‘Thank you for doing this. Keep doing what you’re doing, keep saving lives.’
Olesya replied: ‘That’s the least we can do.’
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have donated an undisclosed amount to support the people of Ukraine as they paid tribute to the Invictus Games star killed in action in Ukraine.
Today the couple announced they have made donations to a number of charities including The Hello Trust, a humanitarian landmine clearance charity, and HIAS, an international Jewish humanitarian organization supporting refugees (pictured in Kyiv).
Earlier today, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they have donated to a number of charities, including The Hello Trust.
The non-political charity helps communities around the world remove deadly landmines from their lands.
Helo has 8,500 employees in 25 countries and territories and is providing ambulances and logistics to medical officers in Zimbabwe, Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan and Guinea-Bissau.
The Duke made an emotional pilgrimage to Africa in 2019 to follow in the footsteps of his mother Diana, who passed through a partially cleared Angolan mine in 1997 to highlight the trust’s efforts and the threat of military weapons.
In 1997, Diana said: ‘I am not a political figure. As I said at the time, and I would like to reiterate now, my interests are humanitarian.
‘That’s why I felt attracted to this human tragedy. How can the countries that manufacture and trade these weapons influence their conscience with such a human catastrophe?’