Prince Harry, Duchess Meghan Markle to Build Relief Center in Mumbai Amid COVID Crisis
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle arrive to attend the Mountbatten Music Festival at Royal Albert Hall on March 7, 2020 in London, England. (Simon Dawson – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
India-West Staff Reporter
On the third wedding anniversary of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle May 19, their nonprofit, Archewell Foundation, announced a philanthropic project in India.
In a statement shared on the foundation’s website, the couple announced that their ongoing partnership with World Central Kitchen will be building their next Community Relief Center in Mumbai, India, which is facing a devastating second wave of COVID-19.
Mumbai is also home to Myna Mahila, an Indian organization focused on women’s health and employment opportunities that the Duchess of Sussex has long supported.
“Right now, COVID-19 cases are spiking across the entire country of India. On Tuesday, India’s total virus cases exceeded 25 million, with 260,000 new cases and 4,329 deaths reported in the past 24 hours,” the statement said. “Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, millions have been infected, and there is widespread concern that the crisis is even worse than reported.”
The Mumbai location will be the third in a series of four Community Relief Centers.
The purpose of these centers, noted the statement, is to provide “relief and resilience (as well as healing and strength) for the communities in which they’re based.” During future crises, these centers can be quickly activated as emergency response kitchens—or vaccination sites—and through calmer times they can serve as food distribution hubs, schools, clinics, or community gathering spaces for families, it added.