A resurfaced video has shown Meghan Markle’s empathy after she helped bring safe drinking water to almost 60,000 people in Rwanda.
Meghan travelled to Rwanda as an ambassador for World Vision Canada in January 2016, just months before her first-ever date with Prince Harry.
During her visit, the Duchess trekked to unclean water sources, visited clean water projects and helped build a well, while also listening to the stories of children who had been forced to drop out of school to travel far distances in search of water.
In the video, Meghan Markle can be seen enthusiastically shaking hands with locals, chatting and laughing with volunteers and is also hugged by a little girl as she learns how clean water has helped local communities.
Judi James, a body language and communication expert, analysed the video and explained the footage showed a “more low-key version of Meghan” before her time in the Royal Family.
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Ms James, who is a leading expert on social behaviour, believes Meghan’s body language seemed more open in the clip than it did during her time as a working royal.
She said: “This is a much more low-key version of Meghan who looks natural and less self-aware as she guides us through the help needed for Rwanda.
“Her signals of status are low and her signals of empathy are high here. She looks fresh and more spontaneous than she did in her later time as a royal.”
In the video, Meghan can be seen pouring muddy water into a bottle to show how the local water supply is making people sick.
Meghan can also be seen helping build a well and says it was “really cool” to be part of such an important process.
In the clip, Meghan says: “It’s not just about clean drinking water, but what it’s doing for education, for keeping these kids in school. What it’s doing for them not having medical bills.
“I mean every single piece of it is so interconnected and I think how this one life source is the course for all of it. That’s been my biggest takeaway from today.”
The Duchess also added that she “really liked her dance lessons” and the video showed her laughing along with children while being taught how some “really solid Rwandan dance moves.”
Ms James also pointed out that being hugged by a child in the video clip seemed to have caught the Duchess “slightly unaware.”
She added: “[Meghan’s] youthful-looking enthusiasm is a key feature of this video. By keeping her non-verbal and verbal signals understated she defines the horror of the water situation with maximum impact.
“[Meghan] gives the impression of being a hands-on helper here, rather than a royal doing whistle-stop visits.”
Meghan’s support for local Rwanda communities was remembered, as volunteers who met the Duchess at the time have spoken out about the impact it had.
Nicaise Ugabinema, a member of World Vision Rwanda, recalled meeting the Duchess and said: “We always remember the face of Meghan Markle, full of compassion and empathy when she was looking at children fetching unclean water.
“Since her visit to Rwanda in 2016, her contribution and similar contributions from other people like her, helped World Vision Rwanda to get funds to support more than 57,500 people with clean water.”
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