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News

TRH spend their first day in Uganda

23rd November 2007

The Prince of Wales visited one of Kampala’s poorest districts today during the first day of his overseas tour to Uganda.

His Royal Highness met former prostitutes during a tour of one of Kampala's poorest districts.

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall are in the Ugandan capital for the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which will be opened by The Queen.

On the first day of their visit to the country, His Royal Highness visited a crowded shanty town in which one in 10 people are HIV positive and most struggle to live on around 50 pence a day.

The Prince met former sex workers who, with the help of UK aid, are being re-trained to offer a way into legitimate employment.

Arriving at Kawempe, home to around 300,000 people, The Prince was greeted by a crowd of enthusiastic men, women and children who had lined the street.

The slum is one of Uganda's most crowded, with more than 9,000 people living on each square kilometre.

Walking around the dusty streets, The Prince was beckoned into a local store.

Its delighted owner, Maureen Kanjeyo, spoke to His Royal Highness before he moved on.

She said: "I am very happy, very proud. I have never had a prince in here before."

She joked that she would now be renaming her shop, which sells sweets, rice and millet, King Charles Store.

After leaving the shop, The Prince made his way slowly through the shanty town as rows of people five deep reached out to shake his hand.

During the tour, The Prince saw a number of projects set up by non-governmental organisations and part-funded with money from the Department for International Development (DfID).

Since 1986, the United Kingdom has given more than £1billion in aid to the East African republic.

At a clean water tap set up by WaterAid, of which he is Patron, The Prince stepped in to fill up a container for nearby residents.

His Royal Highness was then taken to a women's group funded by ActionAid, of wich he is also Patron, which helps educate people about HIV and AIDS prevention.

Infection rates in Uganda have been driven down in recent years from a high of 30 per cent in the mid-1990s to around seven per cent today.

But for the slum's many sex workers, the chances of infection are far higher, with as many as one in three believed to be carrying the virus.

The Prince was shown what is being done to help those women get off the streets and into legitimate employment.

Upon arriving at a project which was set up to give former sex workers new skills, The Prince met one of the centre's success stories.

Hamidah Nambajiiwe, aged 25, was forced into prostitution aged 18 after her parents died and she could not afford to stay in school.

She looked after herself and her family and she began to work the streets.

After one of her clients violently attacked her, she attended the African and Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) centre to learn tailoring skills.

She now teaches 40 girls who are in the same position she was once in.

After being shown an HIV testing clinic, The Prince received a demonstration of the work Miss Nambajiiwe's students now do.

From there, The Prince was shown how other girls use hairdressing as a way out of prostitution.

The Prince chatted with the girls, discussing their work and ambitions, before emerging back into the streets of the slum, where a loud and lively crowd awaited him.

Later The Prince visited Kampala Kids Football League and met children involved in skills training.
In a bid to give all children, including those living in the slum, an opportunity to play sports, a Kampala Kids League was started in the late 1990s.
The Prince visited the project, a short drive away from Kawempe, and impressed the staff and children with his own footballing prowess.
A firmly-struck penalty from The Prince's right foot sailed into the back of the net off the post and he chatted with children involved in the project.
Meanwhile The Duchess of Cornwall joined the spouses of the leaders of the Commonwealth countries, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah, at the British High Commission.

During the visit The Duchess planted a tree in the grounds of the High Commission in Kampala, a Prunas Africana, known locally as the stink wood tree, an endangered medicinal species that is used to treat prostate cancer.

As she scooped up a shovel of earth with the spade The Duchess said: "This is going to test my back ," but she finished the task. She then lunched with the spouses of more than 21 Commonwealth prime ministers and presidents who are attending a major summit in Kampala.
Their Royal Highnesses arrived in Uganda yesterday ahead of CHOGM, which was opened today by The Queen.

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