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Waves for Change welcome royal couple visit

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The management of the NGO, Waves for Change, welcomed the visit of the royal couple, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan to Monwabisi Beach at Khayelitsha in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Surf mentors at Waves for Change provide mental health services to vulnerable young people from neighbouring townships and also train them to swim and surf.

Director Tim Conibear says they feel encouraged by the visit of the couple and that they have a good relationship with the British embassy.

“It shines a huge light on the work of the Waves for Change and also the works of other organisations around the world looking to sport to promote mental health among young people. I know that sport improves mental health and with the Duke just coming around it’s a huge validation of the work, it’s been great.”

One of the surfing mentors, Anelisa Mhloli, says the royal couple’s visit is inspiring.

“It’s very overwhelming and excited at the same moment, we were very nervous about the visit but interacting with them and learning  they not so uptight as we expected was really amazing and getting to hear them and speak to each other was amazing…”

Meanwhile, Anti-apartheid activist, Father Michael Lapsley who lost both hands when a letter bomb that the apartheid government had sent exploded on him in 1990, says he was surprised that Prince Harry had heard about what had happened to him.

Father Lapsley was among the Christian faith leaders who went to greet the British royal couple during their visit to the Auwai Masjid in Bo Kaap.

 

Lapsley was speaking after meeting Prince Harry.

“He asked me, a letter bomb? It was like instinctive on his part; it was like an exclamation, a question mark.”

Harry and his wife, Megan, are on a 10-day tour of southern Africa.

 

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