UK’s Prince Harry visits earthquake-devastated Nepal

Britain’s Prince Harry, second left, sits inside a temporary shelter as he visits the camp for displaced families, in Bhaktapur, Nepal, Sunday, March 20, 2016. Britain’s Prince Harry on Sunday visited with families living at a camp in Nepal for people made homeless by last April’s devastating earthquake as he continued a trip that many hope will draw attention to Nepal’s struggle to recover from the disaster. (Navesh Chitrakar/Pool Photo via AP)

Prince Harry of United Kingdom praised the resilience of the Nepalese people during the 2015 Nepal earthquake, before he toured the cultural heritage sites pounded by the 2015 earthquake in the Himalayan nation.

Prince Harry addressed a crowd last Saturday in Kathmandu, the country’s capital, during a warm reception. His five-day visit to the country coincided with the nearing anniversary of the April 25 earthquake that shrunk buildings and costed the lives of nearly 8,000 people and injured 21,000. An aftershock that occurred 17 days later killed more than 200.

The prince visited Patan Durbar Square, the nation’s ancient royal palace and UNESCO World Heritage site and tried to carve wood from earthquake debris. He was also accompanied by 15-year-old Purushottam Suwal in the Buyansi Camp, a village of homeless Nepalese earthquake victims. Then, he visited the Golden Temple and met with Bidya Devi Bhandari, Nepal’s first female president, at the Presidential Palace in Kathmandu.

Prince Harry’s historic visit marks the bicentennial celebration of the first recruitment of Nepalese soldiers known as Gurkhas, praised for their outstanding courage in serving the British Armed Forces during the colonial times. The British prince said he has ”such a huge amount of respect for Gurkha soldiers” because he worked with them in Afghanistan in 2008.  Lastly, the prince visited UK-funded relief operations for distressed victims of the disastrous earthquake.

A report from the Associated Press stated that the Nepalese have been slow-paced in its rebuilding efforts. A government reconstruction agency was finally appointed in December, however, it still promised to hand in aid to displaced families and to construct new houses and structures in the city. Gianna Catolico

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