Prince Harry and Meghan Markle used their third wedding anniversary to announce a new philanthropic endeavor. The couple has chosen, under their Archewell Foundation, to partner with World Central Kitchen in building a Community Relief Center in Mumbai, India. The foundation’s site says the organizations settled on Mumbai due to the spike in Coronavirus cases.
“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 read. “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 city is also home to Myna Mahila, which is “an Indian organization focused on women’s health and employment opportunities that The Duchess of Sussex has long supported.”
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“The purpose of these centers is to provide relief and resilience (as well as healing and strength) for the communities in which they’re based,” the statement continued. “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.”
The move is part of the Duke and Dutchess’s commitment to building four Community Relief Centers across the globe in regions susceptible to climate disasters with Chef Andres’ World Central Kitchen. The first relief center was constructed in the Caribbean Commonwealth nation of Dominica. The second center in Puerto Rico is still being built.
“The health of our communities depends on our ability to connect to our shared humanity. When we think about Chef Andrés and his incredible team at World Central Kitchen, we’re reminded that even during a year of unimaginable hardship, there are so many amazing people willing — and working tirelessly — to support each other,” the couple said in a joint statement, revealing the previous announcement. “World Central Kitchen inspires us through compassion in action.”
Prince Harry and Meghan publicly tied the knot at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018, but the couple previously revealed they had a private ceremony with just the two of them and the archbishop. While it didn’t serve as a legally binding ceremony, the two shared with Oprah Winfrey that the intimate moment was still very important to them. “We called the archbishop, and we just said, ‘Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us,’” Markle told Winfrey during the special, which aired on CBS Sunday night. “The vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the archbishop of Canterbury.”
