The Malolotja Nature Reserve is the jewel in Swaziland’s natural mountainous landscape with blesbok roaming freely on rolling mountain grasslands peppered by rocky outcrops and silhouetted mountain ranges in the distant background.

Blesbok

The WHR team wake to this beautiful scene. We have a characteristic early start in the morning on our first full day in the kingdom of Swaziland.

 

The City of Mbabane - Swaziland

We arranged to meet two of Swaziland’s top athletes, Thabo Dlamini and Sifiso Masango who had generously given up their busy training programmes to come and run the whole day with the World Harmony Run team. Thabo Dlamini is Swaziland’s current 5000 metre champion and 15000 m record holder (44 min), so we explained the Harmony run was a run and not a race.

Thabo Dlamini and Sifiso Masango

 

Mbabane Central Primary School

The windy night had turned into a windy morning and at our first school the children waited for the World Harmony Runners to arrive in a sheltered corner.

Mbabane Central Primary School has a beautiful back drop of a rocky green mountain range rising above the grey school roof. The children were respectfully quiet listening to the message of world harmony from the runners. At the end of the ceremony the children were organized by the teachers in a large circle in a nearby field. Thabo took the torch around and repeated to every child ‘make a wish for harmony’ as they held the torch.

Handshake African style!

Happy farewell!

 

St Marks School

We arrived at St Marks school on the children’s break and the entire school was down on the lower playing field. As the harmony runners ran down to the field the children surrounded them with tremendous excitement. The children enjoying their break set the tone for the ceremony with Ondrej having to raise his voice to be heard above these joyful children gathered on the open playing field.

A dozen or more school girls performed a traditional African dance to the delight of the entire school.

Beautiful faces!

 

Sifundzani Primary School

Sifundzani school set in a beautiful valley in Mbabane with immaculately kept grounds. As the runners approached the school grounds there were children lining the road to take turns to carry the torch to the school hall. In our address to the children famous leaders who had held the torch drew awe-inspired noises every time a famous person’s name was mentioned such as Nelson Mandela who had held the harmony run torch. These children knew the importance of these great leaders who had held the torch and felt the significance of the World Harmony Run coming to their school. The children wanted to sing us a song at the end of the ceremony and they sang a charming hymn for the World Harmony Runners.

Ekwetsembeni Special School

The bright shining faces of the children greeted us as we entered the court yard of this special school. Mbabane Deputy Mayor Jabu Mabuza and Councillor Tom Bailey attended the ceremony and Mbabane Deputy Mayor Jabu Mabuza spoke afterwards commenting ‘Swaziland was a peaceful country, hence the runners came to the right place’. She thanked the runners for recognizing the country with this first time visit of the World Harmony Run to Swaziland. ‘ Our country is founded on peace and we wish that would spread to the whole of Africa and the world’.

The children sat listening so attentively to the simple message from the World Harmony Runners that ‘harmony begins with me’ and also enjoyed the World Harmony Run song performed by the runners.

 

John Wesley Methodist Primary School

John Wesley Methodist Primary School made a lasting impression on the World Harmony Run Team. Thabo told the children that he was also a Methodist and would they please sing a hymn. The children responded immediately with a riveting, rousing performance which was spiritually uplifting with Thabo and Sifiso dancing up the front as the children in a chorus of harmony moved forward and backward together as one, their powerful singing reverberating throughout the school court yard . The spirit of the Harmony Run was encapsulated in this song.

 

Waterford Kamhlaba UWC School

We met a small group of very bright teenagers just about to take a class in physical education. The World Harmony Run team had a discussion with the students as to what they could do to bring about more harmony in the world. Being an international school these young adults who came from many different countries understood the importance of harmony amongst the nations of the world as they themselves came from these different countries. They had great ideas about creating more dialogue between countries by creating new organizations that encouraged more communication between countries. Their teacher spoke at the end of the presentation by the World Harmony Run runners saying ‘We truly appreciatively of your visit and we actually think that you are examples for all of us. I spoke to one of your team and he said you were self funded and that is truly admirable. We hope you keep going from strength to strength as an organization and you do have our support’.

We headed back to our Malolotja Nature Reserve accommodation for our second night in this magical place with time to explore the rocky out crops, huge meadows filled with wild flowers.

– John Marshall

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Distance: 30 km

Team Members:
Ondrej Vesely (Czech Republic), John Marshall (New Zealand), Balarka Robinson (South Africa), Barney Mcbryde (New Zealand), Sifiso Masango (Swaziland), Chris Daly (New Zealand), Steve Polykarpou ((RSA/Cyprus) ), Richard Pedley ((UK/NZ)), Thabo Dlamini (Swaziland), Shree Chirkoot ((RSA / India) ), Leon Subramoney (South Africa), Abhijatri Robinson (Zmbabwe), Adhiratha Keefe (USA), Robert Senovsky (Czech Republic)

Gallery: See more images!

Swaziland 28 October >