Maseru - Britain's Prince Harry on Tuesday pledged to continue his efforts of helping some of Africa's most vulnerable children.
The young royal made the comment as he began working on a project supported by his charity, Sentebale, based in Lesotho.
His organisation is helping to refurbish a much-needed special needs school, the only one in the country, that caters for 43 children with profound physical and mental disabilities.
Harry, 23, is a lieutenant in the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals, and he was joined by more than 20 colleagues from the regiment in helping to do tough manual jobs needed to bring the Thuso Centre in the northern town of Butha-Buthe up to date.
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The prince, speaking in the grounds of the special needs school, said: "Everything here is just so positive and fantastic. This is the only school for mentally handicapped children within Lesotho and once the project is finished, we hope to make another in the centre and one in the south."
During the morning, Harry joined other soldiers from the Household Cavalry working as a labourer, helping to build a ramp for the school's disabled youngsters.
The prince, dressed in a T-shirt, chinos and sturdy walking shoes, queued patiently with his wheelbarrow behind a local workman, to fill it with cement.
He then pushed his load, with perspiration glistening on his brow and a red face, over the bumpy terrain a short distance to where the foundation trench for the ramp had been dug. He carefully poured the cement into it before returning to collect more.
During a break in the refurbishment work at the school, Harry chatted to the press about his charity, Sentebale, and the history affecting Lesotho.
Lesotho has an adult HIV prevalence of 30 percent, and estimates suggest that 200 000 of the country's half a million school-age children and young people have lost one or both parents to the disease.
The prince acknowledged the massive problem that Aids posed in the landlocked kingdom, surrounded on all sides by South Africa.
He said that a "vast quantity of the population don't accept they have Aids: if you accept you have Aids, it's a treatable disease".
Harry set up Sentebale with Lesotho's Prince Seeiso two years ago.
The Household Cavalry team has been touring Southern Africa over the past five weeks on an expedition designed to boost the leadership skills and confidence of the younger members of the group.
Harry joined them for the final two weeks as they travelled through Botswana and Namibia before reaching Lesotho. - Sapa-AP
- This article was originally published on page 4 of The Mercury on July 09, 2008
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