Crown Princess Mary of Denmark brought hope and happiness to children and women in Myanmar when she visited the Southeast Asian country last weekend.The mother-of-four was venturing on her latest charity project to raise awareness about sexual health. On her three-day tour, Princess Mary witnessed the launch of a Danish-funded health centre, which aims to educate women about contraception and family planning and lend support to HIV sufferers and young mothers.
Making the trip alongside development minister Rasmus Helveg Petersen, the duo announced that Denmark was donating approximately £9.5million to non-governmental organisation Marie Stopes International which runs the health centre.
Princess Mary, 41, said that she hoped the donation would help tackle unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and deaths during pregnancy.
"Their traditions and culture create barriers to talking about sexual health, which makes it even harder for them to understand their bodies and make informed decisions about the consequences of sexual relationships," said the Australian-born royal. "The health clinic will provide information about contraception to help women in Myanmar avoid unwanted pregnancies," added Rasmus. "This will lead to fewer illegal abortions that, in a country like Myanmar, often have terrible consequences."
Princess Mary also took the opportunity to visit Buddhist resettlement villages, and clearly had a positive effect on the residents. The beautiful royal was pictured entertaining the children and a smiling baby and was warmly welcomed into family homes.
During her visit, Princess Mary toured cities and met children and families at a Muslim refugee camp. The beaming royal brought joy and happiness to the youngsters as she chatted to those crowded around her, shook hands with them and gave them comforting hugs.