Prince Harry praises Halo Trust for 'doing whatever it takes to help, serve and protect others'

Prince Harry thanks landmine charity supported by his mother Princess Diana for ‘doing whatever it takes to help, serve and protect others’ in ‘trying times’

Prince Harry, 35, wrote to 8,500 staff members of landmine clearance charity
Said he admired their ‘dedication and determination’ to work amid the crisis
Called it ‘trying times’, saying: ‘Hope comes from light of our common humanity’
Praised workers for ‘doing whatever it takes to help, serve and protect others’
Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

Published: 16:32, 26 May 2020 | Updated: 16:43, 26 May 2020

Prince Harry has thanked staff at the landmine charity supported by his mother Princess Diana for ‘doing whatever it takes to help, serve and protect others’ in ‘trying times.’

The Duke of Sussex, 35, wrote to 8,500 members of staff for the Halo Trust, saluting workers for continuing their efforts across warzones in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He wrote: ‘It is at times like this that the work and efforts of people like you – prepared to do whatever it takes to help, serve and protect others – shines through.’

The duke made an emotional pilgrimage to Africa last year to retrace the steps of his mother Diana, who famously walked through a partially cleared Angolan minefield in 1997 to highlight the trust’s efforts and the threat of the military munitions.

The Duke of Sussex, 35, penned a letter of support to the HALO Trust to praise workers for their dedication to clearing landmines during the coronavirus pandemic. The charity hit the headlines around the world after Princess Diana walked through a minefield during a visit to Angola in 1997

In the letter, Harry praised charity workers, writing: ‘In these trying times, hope comes from the light of our common humanity. Nowhere is that light burning brighter than at the HALO Trust.

‘As countries closed their borders, lockdowns came into force and international travel became harder, many might have chosen to suspend operations.

‘Instead HALO kept open a presence in all 25 of it’s country operations.’

He went on: ‘HALO might just have stuck to its care role, but I would like to salute you for pivoting so quickly to meet the challenges unexpectedly presented by the pandemic.

Prince Harry praised the charity for it’s work, saying he ‘saluted’ workers for ‘pivoting’ to meet new challenges

‘The fact that you can operate across conflict affected countries like Afghanistan is also a precious resource in the face of a disease that recognises no frontlines.’

He added: ‘In sometimes hazardous and dangerous situations, your commitment to your communities and people who need your help is remarkable. I am proud to be able to support such an extraordinary organisation.’

Halo has 8,500 staff in 25 countries and territories and has been providing ambulances and logistics to medical authorities in Zimbabwe, Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan and Guinea-Bissau.

Prince Harry visited a minefield during a visit to see the work of the landmine clearance charity on his royal tour of Africa last year

In Syria and Burma, the charity has been providing hygiene kits, personal protection equipment and health education to camps for families displaced by conflict.

Halo Trust chief executive James Cowan in September accompanied Harry in Huambo, Angola, to the area where his mother took the same 54-yard stroll 22 years earlier.

Diana never saw her work to help outlaw landmines come to fruition as she died later in the same year as her visit to Angola, a few months before the international treaty to ban the weapons was signed.

The Duke and Meghan Markle, 38, are currently living in Los Angeles, having stepped back from royal duty in March

The site has since been transformed into a wide residential road called Avenida 28 de Maio – but is affectionately known among locals as Princess Diana Street.

Wearing body armour, the Duke of Sussex visited a mine clearance site nearby and set off a controlled explosion there.

Halo is a non-political charity that helps communities across the world remove the deadly devices from their land.

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