Prince Harry has praised the work of a Christian charity in Angola during his visit to an active minefield.
Prince Harry visited Dirico in southern Angola to support the HALO Trust, an organisation that began rehabilitation work in the country in 1994 by clearing landmines.
HALO reports to have removed over 100,000 landmines to date but consider their work far from finished.
The Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), a Christian charity that provides flights and medical attention to people in remote areas, provide flights to the HALO team to help them clear the landmines.
When Prince Harry visited them, he told MAF pilot Marijn Goud: “HALO could not do it without you, thanks!”
Mr Gould, a Christian who lives in Angola with his wife and two kids, wrote on Facebook: “Today was a slightly different day. Went to a minefield in the morning, saw HRH Prince Harry detonate a mine, had a chat with him and flew a team of very hard working HALO de-miners back home. During the event MAF was on standby for medical evacuations. We are very proud to be partnering with this great organization, working hard to make Angola land mine free in 2025.”
The Duke of Sussex walked on an active minefield with body armour and remotely detonated a landmine to remove it from the field. He then visited Huambo, the site that his mother Princess Diana was famously photographed in wearing similar body armour in 1997.
Her visit brought international attention to the cause, and the impact on those who live in areas where the landmines still lie.
At the time Princess Diana visited Huambo, the area was being cleared of mines by HALO’s team but she didn’t live to see the impact her visit had.
There are now homes, shops, and paved roads where mines once threatened habitation.
Between 1975 and 2002, an estimated 10 million landmines were laid all over the country for maximum destruction during the war, encircling communities and endangering roads.
The remnants of war continue to put Angolans at risk as they travel, work the ground for farming and walk around their communities.
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