Tuesday 12 June 2007

The World Harmony Run in Western Australia began in Busselton, home town to one of our most dedicated World Harmony Runners, Grahak Cunningham. Grahak couldn't join us this week, because only two nights ago he flew to New York for another great experience - the Sri Chinmoy 3100-Mile Race . He is only the second Australian to ever enter this race. Nonetheless, he is still very much a part of the World Harmony Run, as he organised much of it.

This year we have an eager team of 10 runners - including Rathin Boulton, the only Australian so far to FINISH the 3100-Mile Race . An accomplished musician, Rathin has brought his guitar to accompany our renditions of Sri Chinmoy'€™s World Harmony Run theme song .

Also, it was a special day for our youngest team member, Genevieve (or as she introduces herself to the WA schoolchildren, '€œGen from Geelong'). She turned 14 today - and what a tremendous way to spend a birthday!

Our Busselton ceremony at St Joseph'€™s Catholic School was a great start, as the children and staff gave us a warm welcome. One of the latest innovations to our ceremonies in Australia is a short play on the theme of harmony where we demonstrate the differences between harmony and disharmony. The enactment was not only spontaneous and entertaining, but more importantly, it conveyed the message that we can only succeed by working together.

And work together we did - even if it meant splitting our merry team in half. To cover the distance from Busselton to Capel, we had to go in '€œleap-frogging'€ fashion. This was to ensure that we arrived at the next ceremony at Capel Primary School just before lunch. The school grounds are beautiful with green, perfectly trimmed lawns. It was a refreshing sight, for most of the team is comprised of members from the drought stricken east coast. The Western Australian countryside is welcome change.

At Capel Primary School, our play was again performed, mainly in mime, to display the differences between harmony and disharmony. Although we are runners, it is fortunate that we also have a few amateur actors in the team because from the reaction of the children, the play seemed to work well.

We ran another 25km to Adam Road Primary School in Bunbury. The Deputy Mayor of Bunbury, Ms Judy Jones, welcomed us to Western Australia'€™s largest southern city. The school gave us another warm welcome. Thank you to all the schools that greeted us today, becoming part of the World Harmony Run.

After a little more running, we arrived at our two accommodation spots, generously provided by our supporters: Tanya at Koombana Bay Holiday Resort in Bunbury (08 9791 3900) and Ross at Riverside Caravan Park, also in Bunbury (08 9725 1230).

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.