Prince Harry hopes his mother, Princess Diana, "will be proud" of his charity work

Prince Harry says he hopes his mother, Princess Diana, is proud of the charity work he is doing in Africa.

The 28-year-old prince visited the tiny kingdom of Lesotho this week to see the work of his charity, Sentebale. Harry co-founded Sentebale, which works to help vulnerable children, with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in honor of their late mothers.

Speaking at a fundraising gala on Wednesday in neighboring South Africa, Harry said of Seeiso's mother, Queen Mamohato Bereng Seeiso: "I hope she would be proud of what we are trying to achieve in her name."

He then added, "I hope that my mother will be proud, too."

"Maybe, just maybe, they are together somewhere up there, with blue prints and sketches already mapped out!" Harry continued. "I can only hope we put the swings in the right place."

The gala dinner launched a fundraising campaign to build a permanent center for children and young people living with or affected by HIV in Lesotho.

"Talking about HIV and understanding it isn't dangerous. Denying it, or not knowing about it, definitely is," Harry said in his speech. "This boosts confidence and self-reliance, leading to marked and measurable improvement in quality of life. As a consequence, we are now seeing many of these children begin to fulfill their ambitions and realise dreams that once seemed completely impossible."

"Our aim and hope is that we can influence a decline in the transmission of HIV and increase life expectancy, in a unique way for Lesotho: by addressing the psychological and social needs of the next generation, which is so important," he continued, later adding, "The future of this very small and beautiful country, and its magnificent people, could and should be very bright."