Harry moved at plight of Nepalese children with burns injuries
Prince Harry has made an emotional visit to a Nepalese hospital treating young burns victims, many badly scarred in accidents following the devastating earthquake.
Harry was clearly moved when he saw youngsters who have suffered terrible injuries in the temporary shelters used to house thousands of people made homeless after the tremors last year.
The injuries the children from poor rural families suffer are made worse as their parents cannot afford medicine or to take time off work so delay bringing their children to hospital.
Dressed in a blue gown to prevent the spread of infections Harry met five-year-old Roshani Tolenga in the burns unit of Kathmandu's Kanti Children's Hospital, supported by the British charity BVS (Burns Violence Survivors) Nepal.
She had been severely injured when her dress caught fire and looking at the little girl lying on a bed covered in bandages, Harry asked how badly she was burnt.
Dr RP Chaudary, a paediatric surgeon, told the prince her right hand, torso, bottom and thighs were all seriously damaged.
When he told Harry the severity of her injuries, he exclaimed in shock: "35% burns, awful."
BVS Nepal was founded by Wendy Marston and it provides free medication, food and money to the young burns victims and their parents.
Harry was particularly taken with the knitted doll each child is given while they are in-patients.
When he asked Ms Marston where they were from she told him that women in Kent, who had never been to Nepal, made them for the children.
The royal was also told that most of the patients were from rural poor communities who have no training in fire safety.
Ms Marston said: "Most of the child cases who come here are accidents. Some have been badly scalded, others burnt by boiling oil or in a cooking fire.
"Nearly everyone in Nepal cooks on the floor on open flames and due to the earthquake more people are cooking in temporary shelters which make accidents more likely.
"There are 16 children in the unit at the moment - the oldest is 11 and the youngest 11 months.
"Last month we lost one of our children, she'd survived being severely burnt but died a long time later from smoke inhalation injuries."
