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The Sussexes

Prince Harry to host 10th birthday party for his charity Sentebale

<![CDATA[Prince Harry is gearing up to host the Sentebale Summer Party, along with the charity's co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho. Held on the 7th of May, at the Dorchester Hotel at Park Lane in London, the celebration will mark the 10th anniversary of the charity, Sentebale.
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Prince Harry first came up with the idea for Sentebale in 2004, when he visited Lesotho as a part of his gap year and was overwhelmed by the poverty and hardships faced by the children there. He met with Prince Seeiso, and the two of them decided to set up this charity to “help the most vulnerable children in Lesotho get the support they need to lead healthy and productive lives.” They called it Sentebale, which means ‘forget me not’ in Sesotho, the native language. The name was chosen as a tribute to Prince Harry’s late mother Diana, and Prince Seeiso’s mother, who passed away in 2003.
In 2006, Sentebale became recognised as an official charity. Since then, it has been working with local organisations to help children who are victims of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and are suffering from extreme poverty. The charity is based in both Lesotho and London.
“In 2004 I was 19 and went travelling in my gap year,” said Prince Harry about the first time he visited Lesotho. “I had a fantastic time in Australia, Argentina and Botswana but in the end the thing that had the greatest impact on me was the two months I spent working in Lesotho.” Since his first visit, Prince Harry has visited Lesotho numerous times, most recently in February 2013.
The 10th birthday celebrations will include drinks and dinner for the guests, followed by an awards ceremony to honour those who have worked closely with the charity over the past decade and played a part in its success. The event will feature performances by The Bodyguard star Beverly Knight and Troy the magician from Channel 4. Also performing will be the award winning singer Joss Stone, who has visited Sentebale in the past to see the work done by the charity and to raise awareness about its cause.
The event can be followed on Twitter using #SentebaleParty
Photo credit: UK in Brazil via photopin cc]]>