Prince Harry praised the “amazing” efforts of the Ukrainians who worked for the demining charity.
The Duke of Sussex held a video call with two women who have decided to stay in Ukraine with the Halo Trust, which has been conducting military expertise in the Eastern European country since 2016.
Princess Diana worked with the Halo Trust in Huambo, Angola in the 1990s in the fight against landmines. At the time, her support for an international treaty banning the use of explosive devices was seen as a political stance, but was widely regarded as one of her greatest humanitarian efforts.
The Duke of Sussex held a video call with two women who have decided to stay in Ukraine with the Halo Trust, which has been conducting military expertise in the Eastern European country since 2016.
Prince Harry met virtually with Olesya (left), communications manager for Halo in Ukraine, and Marina (right), 25, a monitoring and evaluation officer for the charity.
Princess Diana in a bomb shelter visiting a minefield in Huambo, Angola, 1997.
Prince Harry, who has acted as the charity’s patron and visited Angola to see the work they are doing, met virtually with Olesya, public relations manager for Halo in Ukraine, and Marina, 25, the charity’s monitoring and evaluation officer.
Harry asks the couple how the last couple of weeks have been, to which Marina replies, “Life has been turned upside down. Sometimes it seems to me that this is just a nightmare and I will wake up soon.
“And now we are all together with my family and we have a three-year-old child, and every time we hear sirens, my nephew asks me “what is happening” and “when will the war end?”
Harry goes on to ask if women in their 20s had the opportunity to leave Ukraine when the war started.
Marina said: “Personally, I decided to stay because it was rather vague to have an idea of what was happening now.
“We don’t know what will happen tomorrow and what will be the right decision, but now we are here.”
Harry praised the volunteers for their work in Ukraine, adding: “Keep doing what you’re doing saving lives.”
Olesya added: “This is very, very important because now we are seeing the use of ammunition and mines, so we needed to inform people how to recognize explosive devices and even some of their parts so that adults and children can stay safe.”
Closing the conversation, Harry added, “I know you will continue the work that Halo, your families, and your country so desperately needs.”
“Thank you for being so brave, so wonderful and well done.
“Thanks for this. Keep doing what you’re doing to save lives.”
Olesya replied: “It’s the least we can do.”
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have made undisclosed donations to charities to support the people of Ukraine by paying tribute to the Invictus Games star who died in action in Ukraine.
Today, the couple announced that they have donated to several charities, including The Halo Trust, a demining charity, and HIAS, an international Jewish humanitarian organization that supports refugees (pictured in Kyiv).
Earlier today, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they had made donations to several charities, including The Halo Trust.
The non-political charity helps communities around the world remove deadly landmines from their land.
Halo has 8,500 employees in 25 countries and territories and provides ambulances and logistics to medical facilities in Zimbabwe, Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan and Guinea-Bissau.
The Duke made an emotional pilgrimage to Africa in 2019 to replicate the steps of his mother, Diana, who walked through a partially cleared Angolan minefield in 1997 to draw attention to the foundation’s efforts and the threat of military munitions.
In 1997, Diana said: “I am not a political figure. As I said then and I want to repeat now, my interests are of a humanitarian nature.
“That’s why I was drawn to this human tragedy. How can the countries that manufacture and trade these weapons cope with such human devastation?”