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Prince Harry and Meghan visit Nigeria, where the duchess hints at her heritage with students: “I see myself in all of you”
Their first trip to Nigeria together might have been called a mini royal tour, but for the fact that Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, haven’t been “working royals” for a few years.
The couple — now California residents — received a warm welcome to the massive African nation on Friday. They were gifted traditional Nigerian necklaces of wooden beads and then treated to a dance routine by students at their first stop, the Lightway Academy in the sprawling capital city of Abuja.
There, Harry addressed one of his biggest causes: mental health.
KOLA SULAIMON/AFP/Getty
“If you take anything away from today, just know that mental health affects every single person,” he told the students. “The more you talk about it, the more you can kick stigma away.”
Their visit to the West African country takes on added meaning for Meghan, who not long ago said on her Archetypes podcast that a genealogy test had revealed she’s “43% Nigerian.” The couple have both referenced her Nigerian descent since that revelation, and Meghan voiced her hope to “dig deeper” into her roots.
“My daughter Lili looked at me and said she could see her reflection in my eyes, and said, ‘Mama, I see me in you and you in me,'” she told the students in Abuja on Friday.
“As I look around this room, I see myself in all of you as well,” she added, drawing a round of applause from the crowd.
Andrew Esiebo/Getty Images for The Archewell Foundation
Harry and Meghan are in Nigeria at the invitation of the country’s military, visiting to discuss the future work of the prince’s Invictus Games Foundation. The charity helps wounded servicemembers and veterans through sport. Nigeria has a similar program and collaborates with Invictus.
The visit to Africa comes just days after Prince Harry was in London — on his own — to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. The stop in his old hometown prompted a flurry of speculation about a possible reconciliation with the rest of his royal family in Britain.
But it wasn’t to be. He neither met with his brother, Prince William, nor his father, King Charles III.
At one point, the father and son were a mere two miles from each other, attending separate events. According to a statement from the Duke of Sussex, a meeting was unfortunately not possible due to “his Majesty’s full program” on the day. It added that Harry hoped to see his father again soon.
King Charles is currently undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, but he has resumed some of his public duties, saying this week that he’d, “been allowed out of his cage.”
Harry and Meghan were to wrap up their Nigerian tour on Sunday, following a cultural reception and charity polo match for wounded war veterans.
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Topeka, Kansas — When Angelica Chernytska and her mother Larysa left war-torn Ukraine earlier this year, they never expected Topeka, Kansas, would quickly feel like home.
“I was overwhelmed, that is how I can describe my feelings,” Angelica told CBS News.
That’s because the people of this Midwestern city have created a modern-day welcome wagon.
“It’s very rewarding to see the children thrive in school, not afraid of sirens,” said Yana Ross, president of the nonprofit group Top City Promise.
Ross, who immigrated from Ukraine herself, started the volunteer group to help new immigrants, mostly Ukrainians so far, with almost all expenses for three months, including a place to live.
Larysa said she “was overwhelmed” to walk into a fully furnished apartment the day after she arrived in Topeka.
What is unique is how the group has partnered with the community to ensure the immigrants have more than just a roof over their heads. A Latter-day Saints church welcomes the newcomers to pick up free food, while a Catholic church stores donations that furnish the homes.
Topeka Public Schools has gone as far as hiring a director of cultural innovation, Dr. Pilar Mejía, who helps ease the transition for children.
“We need to strengthen our community from the ground up, and it starts with the children, and so we need to make sure that everybody feels like they’re important,” Mejía said. “They are seen, they are welcomed.”
Topeka Public Schools now has an international flair. In the district of almost 13,000, Ukrainian and Spanish are the most common languages after English. More than 200 refugees have benefitted from the program and the helping hand extends to all nationalities.
Lisbeth Amador came from Nicaragua with her husband and 6-year-old daughter Sury. The couple have jobs, a car and a good school for Sury.
“I love it,” Amador says of her family’s new home. “…It’s different, my life here.”
The cost of welcoming a family can range anywhere from $300 to $10,000 depending on needs. Top City Promise relies on fundraising and the big hearts of the people who call Topeka home.
“Community is what makes Topeka different, because of the desire of the Topeka community to help, to help them to be successful,” Ross said.
