Good morning Trinity Gardens School! The Peace Runners are very excited to meet you and ask you to share with us what peace means to you!
First we are greeted by the School Captains – Sanavi, Olivia, Evie, Ruby, Louis, Mack and Imogen.
Before we enter the meeting hall, the young leaders take a moment to hold the Peace Torch.
Learning the World Harmony Run song ...
... then a moment of peace and silence.
Thank you to the School Captains and thank you to your excellent Principal Conradi. You are all shining examples of goodness and leadership for your fellow students. And your Principal has dedicated his life and work to you!
Thanks to teacher Joh Nicholas for facilitating this event. The team members are buoyed by the energy and awareness of sharing peace from Trinity Garden School.
Welcome to Parliament House from the Peace Runners!
Today the Honourable Jing Lee LMC met the Peace Run team on the steps of Parliament House to warmly welcome the global collection of runners to Adelaide.
Ms. Lee as a past recipient of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run Torch-Bearer Award was excited to meet us again and reflected deeply in her speech on the inner significance of the run and how peace is so essential in our everyday lives.
Phillipa Rowland, the Chair of Religions for Peace Australia was inspired to quote Sri Chinmoy in her heart-felt words of welcome to the team.
"To be a good citizen of the world means I am not only for myself; I am for the rest of the world." Sri Chinmoy
Peace Runner Preetidutta Thrope from New Zealand, then spoke on behalf of the Peace Run team before each runners shared their country of origin and the team sang the Peace Run song.
Two Torch-Bearer Award recipients were honoured today. The first recipient was the Reverend Doctor Lynn Arnold. Reverend Arnold was the 40th Premier of South Australia and is now an ordained minister.
He told us that his storied life in pursuit of truth should serve as a reminder that dialogue for peace must always be accompanied by action for peace.
The second recipient is Heidi Unferdorben, former President of the Rotary Club of Adelaide.
Over a year ago, she was inspired to become a certified Global Peace Pole Maker. A global project begun in Japan, the poles stand to proclaim only one thing in a multitude of tongues. "May Peace Prevail on Earth".
Heidi told us how honoured she was to be representing Australia at the 80th commemoration of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki later this year.
Thank you Jing Lee.
Visitors from France meet Luiza, our French teammate.
In attendance also was Ranielson Santana, President of the Brazilian Association of South Australia, see here with Peace Runner Ronivon de Oliveira.
Thank you to all Torch-Bearers! We love your continuing spirit of self giving and your hope for peace and goodness in our world. The contribution you make to inspiring and encouraging humanity cannot be measured.
Heidi's daughter whom we met last night also came to celebrate her life and efforts.
Aiden Manning is an exceptional young man. He learned about the Peace Run only a few days ago and completely changed his schedule to attend both school programs and the Torch-Bearer Award ceremony here at the Parliament House. He captured these moments with such enthusiasm and dedication. He has such a beautiful and generous spirit. Thank you for all you do and for joining the Peace Run team in this exceptional way. We look forward to seeing your work unfold in the future.
With hearts filled with love and hope from the meeting on the steps of the Parliament Building, the Peace Run team enjoys a delicious lunch in West Lakes by the statue of Peace Run founder, Sri Chinmoy. A plaque at the site reads:
'O dreamers of peace, come. Let us walk together. O lovers of peace, come. Let us run together. O servers of peace, come. Let us grow together. Sri Chinmoy.
Thank you Sri Chinmoy for this opportunity.
At the Gorge Wildlife Park, the team meet many lives.
Each person is hugged by Kya and George, 7 years old Koalas. It was an unforgettable experience for everyone. Kya was 7 kilos and George 11 kilos. Quite heavy! Did you know that koalas sleep for over 20 hours each day?
The remaining four hours are spent eating eucalyptus leaves! Both Kya and George are unusually gentle and trusting. With very soft fur. Their claws can be fierce if they are left to hang on by themselves.
Luckily, we all give them a hand so they don't need to grip.
We also get a chance to admire sweet blue little penguins, camels, wallabys, kookaburas, Tasmanian Devils, pelicans and many more beautiful creatures. It was a joy to have this short respite from our running.
Thank you to the Sri Chinmoy Centre of Adelaide for providing us entry. 'Nature is the flow of harmony that infallibly unites the within and the without, the what and the what is to come. No insincerity or blunder is to be found between Nature's action and Nature's Law." Sri Chinmoy
The team is also so grateful to the Sri Chinmoy Adelaide Centre for feeding and hosting us with such love and care. You have vastly increased the joy of our Peace Run experience.
