PRINCE Harry echoed his late mother's concern to reach out to the dispossessed today when he met recovering crack addicts in Brazil's most notorious drugs den.
Mobbed by addicts, he shook their hands and heard their stories of a descent into a life of hell among homeless people described by one city official as "the walking dead".
Harry, 29, went there to hear about a controversial programme, launched by authorities in the city of 19 million, to give food, hostel beds, work and healthcare to the addicts in an attempt to wean them off drugs and cut crime.
Since January, the number of addicts sleeping out on the streets nightly has been cut from 2,500 to around 200 under the Open Arms project.
Crack cocaine consumption in the area has come down by 70 per cent and the number of robberies has reduced by 40 per cent, as the authorities have taken a lenient view towards users but hit dealers hard, arresting more than 100 of them.
"You see these walking dead people here but in other streets you can walk safely," Leonardo Barchini, municipal secretary at São Paulo city council said.
As a gang of drug dealers looked down on chaotic scenes below from a first floor window, Harry chatted to a group of recovering addicts paid £4 a day to clean the streets as part of the programme.
You should not be embarrassed because you have realised your mistakes and are making them better
"Monday morning I'm in work mode," she said.
"But I cannot just quit 100 per cent."
Harry told her: "You must be very relieved that your children did not make the same mistakes that you did."
She replied: "I am actually embarrassed as the mother of my children."
But Harry said: "You should not be embarrassed because you have realised your mistakes and are making them better."
Inside the cleaning depot, a crowd of street cleaners in their green and yellow uniforms some with tattoos, some missing most of their teeth pushed to get close to Harry.
One woman in sunglasses managed to get him to pose for a picture with her.
Among the cleaners, who all still used crack, was Diana das Neves, 25, who had arranged her hair in braids especially for Harry's visit.
"I have seen Harry on TV and I really like him," she said.
"It's because of Diana.
His visit was part of the open arms project which helps reduce crime and drug abuse [REUTERS]She said she first took crack when she was 14, and spent seven years in Cracolandia begging and scavenging for scrap to recycle before she entered the programme this year.
"I thank God that my life has changed completely," she said.
"I'm using much less crack than before.
"I can to two or three days without it.
"I am married, and I want to have children.
"The moment that I get pregnant I will quit.
"I've made the first step already."
At an open-air health centre, which provides food, showers, toilets, and basic medical assistance for between 200 and 300 addicts each day, the Prince, who dabbled with marijuana when he was 16, met recovering addict Evandro Martins da Silva Junior.
Evandro, 28, who is still smoking crack but has cut his use, works in a mobile library for other addicts.
He told Harry about his life and and how the Open Arms project was helping to put him on the road to recovery.
A high school drop out, he was playing drums in a rock band and teaching music to make a living when a famous musician got him hooked on crack after taking him to Cracolandia.
You should not be embarrassed because you have realised your mistakes and are making them better
"Monday morning I'm in work mode," she said.
"But I cannot just quit 100 per cent."
Harry told her: "You must be very relieved that your children did not make the same mistakes that you did."
She replied: "I am actually embarrassed as the mother of my children."
But Harry said: "You should not be embarrassed because you have realised your mistakes and are making them better."
Inside the cleaning depot, a crowd of street cleaners in their green and yellow uniforms some with tattoos, some missing most of their teeth pushed to get close to Harry.
One woman in sunglasses managed to get him to pose for a picture with her.
Among the cleaners, who all still used crack, was Diana das Neves, 25, who had arranged her hair in braids especially for Harry's visit.
"I have seen Harry on TV and I really like him," she said.
"It's because of Diana.
She said she first took crack when she was 14, and spent seven years in Cracolandia begging and scavenging for scrap to recycle before she entered the programme this year.
"I thank God that my life has changed completely," she said.
"I'm using much less crack than before.
"I can to two or three days without it.
"I am married, and I want to have children.
"The moment that I get pregnant I will quit.
"I've made the first step already."
At an open-air health centre, which provides food, showers, toilets, and basic medical assistance for between 200 and 300 addicts each day, the Prince, who dabbled with marijuana when he was 16, met recovering addict Evandro Martins da Silva Junior.
Evandro, 28, who is still smoking crack but has cut his use, works in a mobile library for other addicts.
He told Harry about his life and and how the Open Arms project was helping to put him on the road to recovery.
A high school drop out, he was playing drums in a rock band and teaching music to make a living when a famous musician got him hooked on crack after taking him to Cracolandia.
The Prince echoed his mother Diana's concerns [PA]"I smoked it and I tried it.
"I have been here for four years," Evandro said.
"I started missing all my classes.
"First time I returned back home I was absolutely filthy.
"My mother tried helping me but every time I kept coming back to Crackland.
"Every time I came back I had a cell phone and I was well-dressed but then it all went wrong again.
"I wrecked my own life but now I want to lift myself up and go home in a good state, not go back dirty."
The royal visit to São Paulo's version of Skid Row, near one of the city's main commuter stations, came a day after Harry admitted being reduced to tears meeting children who have lost parents to drugs and crime in the city.
On his tour of Brazil he has celebrated cultural links between the World Cup host nation and Britain but, like his mother Princess Diana, he has been keen to understand the seamier side of the nation's life.
Brazil has more than a million crack users, roughly one per cent of the adult population.
The country is the second largest consumer of drugs in the world behind the United States and despite having the lowest drugs prices in the world, people are often murdered for the price of a single fix.
The Prince will continue his tour of Brazil [PA]"I smoked it and I tried it.
"I have been here for four years," Evandro said.
"I started missing all my classes.
"First time I returned back home I was absolutely filthy.
"My mother tried helping me but every time I kept coming back to Crackland.
"Every time I came back I had a cell phone and I was well-dressed but then it all went wrong again.
"I wrecked my own life but now I want to lift myself up and go home in a good state, not go back dirty."
The royal visit to São Paulo's version of Skid Row, near one of the city's main commuter stations, came a day after Harry admitted being reduced to tears meeting children who have lost parents to drugs and crime in the city.
On his tour of Brazil he has celebrated cultural links between the World Cup host nation and Britain but, like his mother Princess Diana, he has been keen to understand the seamier side of the nation's life.
Brazil has more than a million crack users, roughly one per cent of the adult population.
The country is the second largest consumer of drugs in the world behind the United States and despite having the lowest drugs prices in the world, people are often murdered for the price of a single fix.
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