Princess Anne visits refugee settlement in Uganda
The Princess Royal visited a refugee settlement on Friday (28 October) as part of a four day trip to Uganda.
Accompanied by her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence on the official royal visit, Princess Anne met with people from Kyangwali Refugee Settlement to learn more about the impact conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has had on children’s lives as well as how Covid-19 has affected them.
As a Patron of Save the Children UK, Her Royal Highness met with people from the local school and took part in an activity with a 'Catch-up Club' run by the Save the Children charity. Later, The Princess also met children being supported at a 'Child Friendly Space' after fleeing their homes due to ongoing conflict in the country.
During the pandemic, Uganda kept schools fully or partly closed for over a year and a half. This meant that children in the country faced the world’s longest school closure due to Covid 19, according to Save the Children. This led the organisation to launch its 'Catch-Up Clubs' to help close the gap of lost learning over the period, and encourage children to return to school.
In a release, Country Director of Save the Children Uganda, Dragana Strinic, said, “It was an honour to host Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal today to raise awareness of the impact that conflict and Covid-19 school closures are having on millions of children in Uganda.
"Due to the ongoing conflict, Save the Children’s Catch-up Clubs have been a lifeline for children growing up in Kyangwali refugee settlement. Without these clubs, some of these children may never have returned to school.”
The Princess Royal became Patron of the charity in 2017 after serving as its President since 1970. Queen Elizabeth II was also a patron of the charity for 65 years.
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