Sentebale means forget me not and Rita Ora put on an unforgettable performance recently at Hampton Court Palace, at a concert hosted by Sentebale and Audi.
Rita joined a host of other acts including George the Poet and Inala, an African Ballet show. They performed to a 3000 strong crowd in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace. Charity founders His Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Prince Seesio.
Together with sponsors, Audi, Historic Royal Palaces – the independent charity which cares for Hampton Court Palace – and American Express, all came together to raise awareness of issues surrounding HIV and AIDS in southern Africa, and funds for Sentebale’s work in Lesotho and Botswana – two countries with the world’s second and third highest HIV infection rates.
As well as raising awareness and inspiring action with the hashtag #StopTheStigma, the charity asked the audience to donate texting STIGMA20 to 70191 to raise £20 to pay for a child living with HIV to attend a Saturday club in Botswana or Lesotho.
Ambassador for the charity George the Poet took to the stage to introduce the Sentebale Let Youth Lead advocates, Rethabile Seraba and Sekhabo Seselamarumo who told the listening crowd just how the charity had helped them and why it was so important for people to continue to talk about aids and end the stigma around it.
I want to give adolescents living with HIV hope and help them see that there is life beyond HIV. They can be anything they want to be despite being HIV positive through the different programs run by Sentebale. -Sekhabo Seselamarumo
Sentebale contributed a lot to me becoming this strong and brave woman I am today. My plan is to achieve ZERO discrimination in my country by 2030.- Rethabile Seraba
Prince also spoke about ending the stigma in his own speech.
Headliner Rita Ora took to the stage to perform a setlist jam-packed with her hits, including the multi-platinum selling For you, Let You Love Me and Lonely Together which she dedicated to fellow performer and artist Avicii.
You can watch highlights from the concert below:
You can find out more about the work of Sentebale via its website, Twitter and Instagram.