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During his
visit to the Brazilian charity Association for Support
of Children at Risk (ACER) in Sao Paulo on
Wednesday, the fourth in line to the throne met
with two young sisters, aged 8 and 9 years old, who had been
raised by their grandmother after their mother was murdered and
their father was sent to jail for dealing drugs. He also
spoke with the girls’ grandmother, 41 year-old Cristina da
Cruz Nascimento, who, in addition to her two granddaughters, also
looks after her great-niece. Cristina recently got a job as a
housekeeper, and supports the three girls and herself on a salary
of 600 Reals (approximately £160)a month.
Later on Prince Harry spoke to members of the press, comparing the
girls’ loss to the loss of his mother when he was 12. “I was
completely overwhelmed and shocked,” the Prince said. “I’ve never
blubbed in public as far as I can remember but I was pretty damn
close. It was amazing to hear those stories.”
“There are two little girls – I’m quite emotional – just looking at
them I wanted to talk about my own experiences. But there is
no point because it is just so far removed. The bravery of them
looking at me, smiling at me … I wanted to use my own experiences
in a very small way to try to give them a bit of understanding
about the fact that I see what you’re going through. But you hear
the stories and think that’s nothing to what they have been
through”.
ACER was founded by Jonathan Hannay in 1993 and is based in
Diadema, Sao Paulo. The charity helps orphaned children by
reuniting them with members of their extended family who are able
to provide and care for them. Mr Hannay came up with the concept
while studying in New York, where he worked with children and young
people during a crack epidemic. He chose Diadema as the area
to base his charity in as it has the highest murder rate in Sao
Paulo and the second highest in all of Brazil.
Later on that evening, after Harry’s visit to ACER, the 29 year-old
royal attended a reception in Sao Paulo to mark Her Majesty’s
official birthday. In his speech, he spoke about his visit to
the charity, saying that: “Some of the children’s stories in
Diadema have reduced me to tears, but the smiles on their faces
show the positive impact their community is having on them and the
success of ACER”.
Prince Harry will visit Chile later this week as a part of his
seven-day tour in South America.
Photo credit: UK in Brazil via photopin
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