Team A

"Morning shows the day." We enjoyed an early start this morning, meeting with the Mayor of the Shire of Baw Baw,

Councillor Dick van Leeuwen, other Councillors and staff. It was a joyful gathering in the beautiful public park adjacent the Council Chambers that fuelled us with great enthusiasm for the remainder of the day.

Our next stop, just around the corner was a meeting at Warragul Primary School. Entering into the school we were captivated by a charm and warmth that seems to pervade the very buildings.

The children and teachers gathered in their outdoor amphitheatre and welcomed us with love and kindness. The volley of questions for the team revealed an interest in the World Harmony Run that touched us deeply.

Thank you to the children of Warragul Primary and to the teachers for your shining example of goodness and concern.

A chance meeting with local Warragul resident Michael Hoare who was on a daily walk with his wife. Michael surprised us when he revealed he had run in the very first  Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run (precursor of the World Harmony Run) in 1987.

After a 7km dash from Warragul to Drouin, we were greeted by the Year 7 students of Drouin Secondary College.

Another fantastic experience for the day. The students displayed maturity way beyond their years and we especially enjoyed chatting with them in smaller groups after the ceremony when they passed the torch amongst themselves.

Conscious that we had little time before our final engagement for the day, we virtually sprinted the 9 kms into Longwarry.

We then met with Teams B and C in Emerald in the Dandenong Ranges to take the train ride of our lives on one of Australia's most famous steam trains – "Puffing Billy."

A moving museum, this 108-year-old train is so loved it is funded, serviced, conducted and managed by nearly 3000 volunteers.

Restored in the 1950s, this famous tourist destination was significant to the Team as World Harmony Run founder, Sri Chinmoy, rode on this train on 13 September 1984 during a visit to Australia.

As a small child growing up in an East Bengali village, Sri Chinmoy had longed to grow up to become a train driver. Now after riding in the driver's compartment of "Puffing Billy" in fulfilment of his childhood dream, Sri Chinmoy stated: "This has been the happiest day of my life."

We were welcomed at the final station by the Federal Member for LaTrobe, Mr Jason Woods; the marketing manager of "Puffing Billy," David Eaton; and the adorable students from Belgrave South Primary School.

Mr Woods was very relaxed and heartily embraced the values of the Run. His love for his electorate is contagious.

To David and all the volunteers of "Puffing Billy" – we are extremely, extremely grateful for granting us what has been one of our happiest days on the Run.

– Anubha Baird (Australia), Angela Muhs (Germany), Simone Dollas (Australia)

Team B

This morning Team B started with a visit to West Gippsland Hospital in Warragul, to be greeted by Pam Dyson who ushered us into the hospital and introduced us to some cheerful elderly residents who are cared for by a very friendly staff.

The hospital celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and it was easy to tell that the staff does a fantastic job in the elderly ward. Staff and patients alike gathered for a photo and afterwards we passed the torch around for all to hold.

Then it was time to run. It was a fresh morning with a strong breeze blowing which challenged the flame of torch as we ran.

We covered 15 kms and then made our way to Longwarry Primary School. This school visit was really great fun. First we introduced ourselves and played some games with the children. They were quite intuitive and enjoyed our presentation.

Principal Peter McKay then organised all the children and World Harmony Run team to gather on the playground for some folk dancing. This was a first for some of our team members!  All the children knew the steps for the dances but we had to learn as we went along, with varying degrees of success!

Afterwards we all gathered by the play area for a group photo.

The afternoon saw us covering the rest of the running distance for the day. We were tight for time and despite the hills we had to pick up the pace in order to make it for the train ride on "Puffing Billy."

– Colm Magee (Ireland)

Team C

This morning the World Harmony Run was delighted to stop in at Bunyip Primary School.

With a cheering line up of excited and eager students giving us high-fives as we ran in with the torch, this emerged as one of the most inspiring schools we have visited on our route.

We received such a warm welcome and were amazed at the effort and dedication the students showed in their presentations.

We were moved to hear some of their creative and insightful ideas about world peace and harmony.

It gave us incredible inspiration and we felt as if they had not only shared with us some very enlightening points but also helped to teach us about so many different aspects of peace.

This group of very sharp children were fast to guess which country each member of our international team was from.

The torch was passed around all the grades. Everyone got a chance to hold the torch and make their own wish for world harmony.

We learned that part of Bunyip Primary's continuing effort in the community is to run a lap each day of their entire school ground to eventually cover the cumulative distance around the State of Victoria. Our team was delighted to contribute to this effort with the torch!

Before we had to say our goodbyes to the lovely school of Bunyip Primary, all the students and teachers gathered for one last big "Cheer for World Harmony."

Thank you to Mr. Ted Lease, the Principal, for such a fulfilling experience we were able to share with the kids. We wish you all the best with your harmonious endeavours at Bunyip Primary.

- Marichi Clarke (Australia)

Nick Rozin from Motorola has helped us out with radios that are an invaluable asset to the communications between the four vehicles that accompany our various teams along the route. Thanks for your generous heart, Nick!

A very special thank you to the Warragul Garden Holiday Park and Retirement Village for sponsoring us with wonderful cabins last night.

The whole team is happy to be in Melbourne and see our friends at The Rainbow-Silence-Heart restaurant (280 Bridge Rd, Richmond) who treated us with their smiles and great food. I had the Bliss Burger and it was a fantastic meal. Thanks for creating such a palpable feeling of oneness!

– Prabhakar Street (Canada)

If you would like to place a link or a write a story about the World Harmony Run on your website, click here to Link to Us. We'll be happy to place a reciprocal link and list you on our Friends Online page.

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Team Members:
Mrinali Clarke (Australia), (New Zealand), Angela Muhs (Germany), Anubha Baird (Australia), Simone Dollas (Australia), Nataliya Lehonkova (Ukraine), Prabhakar Street (Canada), Edi Serban (Romania), Standa Zubaty (Czech Republic), Sandro Zincarini (Italy), Runar Gigja (Iceland), Marichi Clarke (Australia), Misha Kulagin (Russia), Dima Lehonkov (Ukraine), Colm Magee (Ireland), Peter Elliot (Australia), Veeraja Uppal (Australia), Pushpendra Uppal (Australia)

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

Gallery: See more images!

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