The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent another jam-packed day in Cape Town, South Africa.
Their day began at Monwabisi Beach, where they joined a session with Waves for Change, an organisation that helps to train and support “local surf mentors to provide mental health services to young people,” per the Buckingham Palace press briefing.
[getty src=”1170743217″ width=”594″ height=”394″ tld=”ca”]Ash Heese, the training and partnerships manager for Waves for Change told People after Harry and Meghan’s visit that they are “two people who are such positive mental health champions supporting our program and mental health in general.
“It is so important that people like the Sussexes are promoting mental wellbeing. Even just the fact that they are talking about it is huge and valuable.”
The Waves for Change website says that “daily exposure to violence and stress means many South Africans suffer from acute emotional and psychological stress. In the absence of emotional support, the stress often manifests in anti-social and high-risk behaviour, placing many young South Africans at-risk.
[getty src=”1176809255″ width=”594″ height=”422″ tld=”ca”]“Early surfing sessions showed that participants noted improved feelings of belonging, strength, trust and confidence – key pillars of wellbeing. This was reflected in their behaviour as noted by teachers and parents.”
During their visit, Harry and Meghan took part in a Power Hand session uses a strengths-based approach to help the person feel calm, strong, and hopeful, according to Waves for Changes’ Instagram post.
Each person was required to name a strength and meditate on it. Heese said that she told Meghan her strength would be dancing, but Meghan laughed and demurred.
“She said parenting is the new strength that she and Harry are learning. She said, ‘He’s the best dad,’ and Harry said, ‘No, she’s the best mom.’”
One of the participants said that Harry also talked about mental health during the session.
[getty src=”1176835940″ width=”594″ height=”448″ tld=”ca”]“Basically, he showed us that actually opening up and talking about your emotions is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness,” Sam Schumacher told People.
“And the sooner you can do that, it actually helps you so much. That was the thing that helped him so much.”
Harry and Meghan also learned about the impact of The Lunchbox Fund, one of the charities that they chose for people to donate to in honour of Archie’s birth this past spring.
According to the Buckingham Palace briefing, The Lunchbox Fund provides nearly 30,000 meals to the Waves for Change programmes and schools across South Africa – both townships and rural schools.
Topaz Page-Green, The Lunchbox Fund’s founder, told Vanity Fair that because of donations in Archie’s honour, the fund will be able to feed an additional 750 young people.
[getty src=”1176835821″ width=”594″ height=”452″ tld=”ca”]“It’s a tremendous gift and shows the positive impact of their use of social media. We received $35,000 in donations and to get this recognition has been life-changing. It’s amplified global awareness for children in need in South Africa. All of this positive energy enables us to continue the work we are doing on the ground.”
They met with Dr Thomas Maes, the director of the Commonwealth Litter Programme (CLiP) to learn how the programme is operating in South Africa.
Launched at the London Commonwealth Summit in 2018, CLiP “funds research and action to tackle plastic waste in six Commonwealth countries, working with support from the South African Department of Environmental Affairs to tackle plastic waste and educate communities on the impact of microplastics in oceans.”
They also met with a marine biologist, Loyiso Dunga, from the Sea Change Project, to learn about the effects of microplastics on the ocean.
Following their morning at Monwasibi Beach, the Duke and Duchess gave a rare interview – in terms of royals speaking directly to the media – about mental health.
Meghan said that “Just getting people to all talk about it and talk to each other… you see that no matter where you are in the world, if you’re in a small community or a township or if you’re in a big city, it’s that everyone is dealing with a different version of the same thing.
“Globally I think there is a bit of a consciousness crisis, and so the fact that we’re able to be here together and see on the ground so much good work that’s being done, just because people are willing to talk to each other about it and someone is willing to listen is huge and that can apply to being here.”
[getty src=”1176836032″ width=”594″ height=”418″ tld=”ca”]Harry said, “We need to eradicate it and learn from previous generations so it’s not a perpetual cycle and I think what’s amazing is just in a day and a half, the same conversations keep happening with all sorts of different people so they’ve been through it and we can learn so much from that.”
Harry and Meghan then separated – Harry going on an engagement with the City of Cape Town Marine Unit and Meghan heading back to the British High Commissioner’s residence to spend time with Archie.
The Duke of Sussex undertook this engagement as Captain General of the Royal Marines and joined the Marine Unit. Unfortunately, the sea was too rough, and their original plan of visiting Seal Island had to be cancelled for a trip up Kalk Bay “to learn about the important role they play in combatting the poaching of abalone” which is one of South Africa’s biggest illegal wildlife trade concerns.
[getty src=”1170663569″ width=”594″ height=”396″ tld=”ca”]Captain Rob Smith told the Daily Mail that Harry “wanted to get a better picture of how the poachers operate and how sophisticated their operations are. They could be on operations every single evening and even now during the day so the problem is fairly significant.”
Later in the afternoon, Their Royal Highnesses reunited for a visit to the colourful area of Bo Kaap for Heritage Day and to visit the Auwal mosque, which is the oldest mosque in South Africa.
Libo Metel told the Daily Mail that she had been waiting outside in Bo Kaap to see Harry and Meghan and that she was able to give her a yellow rose when they spotted her.
[getty src=”1176864682″ width=”594″ height=”420″ tld=”ca”]“She said, ‘Can I get a hug? You’re the sweetest person in the world,’ and I’m like, ‘What the heck?’ and then I gave her a hug.” Metel also gave Harry a hug and revealed that Meghan was a better hugger.
“’I felt very special. It was just awesome. Everybody has had a good time seeing them.”
At the Auwal mosque, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex met with faith leaders and representatives from the different religious groups in South Africa to talk about interfaith dialogues in Cape Town. They were also able to view the oldest copy of the Quaran in South Africa, which was dictated from memory by an imam who was imprisoned on Robben Island for worshipping Islam.
[getty src=”1176843963″ width=”452″ height=”594″ tld=”ca”]After their visit to the mosque, Harry and Meghan travelled down the road to take part in Heritage Day celebrations in Bo Kaap and were hosted by local resident Shamiela Samodien for tea.
[getty src=”1176862788″ width=”594″ height=”407″ tld=”ca”]Meghan told Samodien that Archie keeps them on their toes, saying “Our plate is full with a five-month-old at the moment. It’s so busy!”
Samodien told Harper’s Bazaar that Harry and Meghan are “both proud parents, very happy and have good energy. They are caring people and it shows in the work they do. They spoke about Archie and how he has been very comfortable since arriving and they said he’s a very good boy. You could see how happy they were.”
[getty src=”1176863237″ width=”594″ height=”437″ tld=”ca”]On their official Instagram page, a video of their visit to Bo Kaap was posted along with the following caption: “The Duke and Duchess are so happy to have been invited to the festivities in Bo Kaap today, and were overwhelmed by the amazing welcome.”
Harry told reporters earlier in the day, “This Africa tour was always going to be fantastic, been looking forward to Cape Town – her first visit, I love this place.
“And again, meeting the people, the energy, the fun, again the positivity, the optimism and the hope in the face of such incredible diversity. There are young people and older people, men and women trying to change what effectively has become the norm.”
Finally, Harry and Meghan wrapped up their day at a reception at the British High Commissioner’s residence, where they met with 200 guests, including “inspiring opinion formers and young future leaders, underling the rich and diverse nature of the UK’s modern partnership with South Africa.”
[getty src=”1176869514″ width=”468″ height=”594″ tld=”ca”]An African choir provided musical entertainment, and some of the guests included people working in “ocean protection and conservation, female township leaders, young entrepreneurs and Commonwealth and Chevening scholars.”
[getty src=”1170788822″ width=”594″ height=”416″ tld=”ca”]On Wednesday, the Duke and Duchess will meet with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs Tutu at their foundation before separating. Harry will travel on to Botswana for the second part of his trip while Meghan carries out solo engagements in South Africa.
Meghan will visit the Woodstock Exchange to meet female entrepreneurs, and mothers2mothers, an organisation that helps women with HIV train and find employment in health care areas to support other women.
