Prince Harry Promotes Charity in Barbados

Britain’s Prince Harry spent this weekend in the Caribbean island nation of Barbados, where he promoted his charity Sentebale, which helps children in the African Kingdom of Lesotho. The Prince arrived on Friday, along with Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso, and did several things to draw attention to Sentebale, including kicking off the Sentebale Polo Cup.

AP Photo/Arthur Edwards, PA

On Friday, Harry was greeted by Sir Clifford Husbands, Governor General of Barbados, and several other local dignitaries. But his real work began the next day when he and Prince Seeiso visited the pediatric ward of the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. There. Harry met with the sick children, and even held some of the babies.

Later, the two Princes went to the Bay Primary School and spoke with the students there.

“It’s very easy to make a small difference, but how long will that difference last for?” Prince Harry asked the boys and girls.

“If things are really, really bad, you can make things less bad for a short amount of time, but to make a real difference is to stop those bad times from really happening . . . .”

What Harry was referring to was his Sentebale charity (which means “Forget Me Not”) he and Seeiso set up four years ago to help disadvantaged children in Lesotho. But this charity does more than just give alms to those kids, it helps them “to really stand up on their own two feet,” Prince Seeiso said.

Later, Harry and Seeiso met with Barbados’ war veterans and shared their experiences serving their countries.

Today was the big polo event, where Harry played with Mark Tomlinson, one of Britain’s leading polo players, against a South African team in the Sentebale Polo Cup at the Apes Hill Club.

Before the match, he told guests: “It seems to be one of life’s cruellest ironies that when natural disaster strikes – whether it be earthquake in Haiti, or years of drought and ravaging by HIV/Aids in Lesotho – it is always the most vulnerable, the defenseless, normally the children, who are left exposed and needing more help.

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“We seem so powerless to prevent these things from happening, but out of such tragedy, comes the purest of human reactions: love, charity, and, in time, a sense of renewed hope. This is really what Sentebale is about.”

Later, Harry and Seeiso attended a Haiti benefit concert at Farley Park which was televised all over Barbados. It was at that concert that the two royals displayed their fun side. The hosts told the audience that if they donated 5,000 Barbados dollars, the two princes would get on stage and dance.

Indeed that happened and Harry and Seeiso strutted their stuff on stage to loud cheers from the crowd. The pair both wore T-shirts produced to promote the concert with the words Haiti We Care on the front. They moved to the thumping rhythms by singer Red Plastic Bag.

There are some reports that Prince Harry may go to Haiti soon, but so far there are no confirmations.