Earlier this year, Princess Eugenie secretly visited a Salvation Army safe house and gave out Christmas gifts to residents, who are recovering from the trauma of modern slavery.
Pregnant Eugenie, 30, is an advocate for tackling human trafficking; she visited the safe house with Anti-Slavery Collective co-founder Julia de Boinville.
Princess Eugenie founded the initiative along with Julia de Boinville (The Anti-Slavery Collective/Instagram)
Announcing the news on Twitter, The Salvation Army shared a picture of wrapped gifts and a signed card. The caption read: “This Christmas safe house residents were delighted to receive gifts from Anti-Slavery Collective founders HRH Princess Eugenie & Julia de Boinville containing crafts & other activities to help with their well-being as they stay safe and continue to recover from their experiences of modern slavery.’
The card signed by the founders of Anti-Slavery Collective said: “Thank you for welcoming Eugenie and I into our home earlier this month, and for sharing your stories so openly.”
“You inspire us to keep fighting against modern slavery, and we have you in our hearts and minds every day.”
This Christmas safe house residents were delighted to receive gifts from @TASC founders HRH Princess Eugenie & Julia de Boinville containing crafts & other activities to help with their well-being as they stay safe and continue to recover from their experiences of #ModernSalvery pic.twitter.com/8sSSVAazZx
— The Salvation Army (@salvationarmyuk) January 6, 2021
The Princess and Julia launched the The Anti-Slavery Collective in 2018 at the Change Makers Summit. The initiative acts as an ‘independent collective whose mission is to bring change-makers together to raise awareness for modern slavery as a global epidemic’.
The pair are long-term friends after first meeting when they were both at school.
In a visit last October, Eugenie and Julia heard stories from survivors who endured abuse at the hands of traffickers. (The Anti-Slavery Collective/Instagram)
Princess Eugenie and Julia were presented with flower pots made by the residents at the Salvation Army safe house. (The Anti-Slavery Collective/Instagram)
This is not the first time the pair have visited such a safe house. Last October, Eugenie and Julia had a socailly-distanced visit to hear about their personal experiences. In a series of photographs released on the initiative’s Instagram, the Anti-Slavery Collective said they were ‘incredibly moved by the courageous stories of the survivors who had endured sometimes decades of abuse at the hands of traffickers and slave labourers’.
“These incredible individuals have the courage to remain inspired by the prospect of a brighter future, despite their difficult journey in the face of extreme adversity.”
