Peace: Tanzania’s tourism players told to hold on tightly to tourists’ flower of the flock
They are duty bound to build and preserve it
SATURDAY November 9, 2019
By Adam Ihucha
Tranquility News Correspondent, Arusha
A local Coordinator of Global Peace Run has exhorted tourism players in Tanzania’s safari capital of Arusha to embrace peace, saying it is the cornerstone of the industry’s growth.
Tanzania is one of key tourism destinations in the world attracting nearly 1.5 million visitors who leave behind $2.4 billion annually, thanks to its peace, amazing wilderness, incredible natural landscapes and friendly people.
The Peace Run is a global torch relay. The blowlamp passes from one hand to another during the race to promote peace, friendship and harmony.
Mr Andrew Malalika, one of the key tour operators and founder of Jackpot Tours and Safaris, hosted the Peace Run in the Tanzania’s safari city.
The race kicked off at Clock Tower, a circle popularly supposed to be situated at the midpoint between Cairo in Egypt and Cape Town in South Africa, all the way to Sheik Amri Abeid Stadium.
Hundreds of residents of the city and its environs, including students, religious and government leaders, took part in the Peace Run.
“Peace is the genesis of every success. We tour operators need peace for tourists to come and therefore, I would like to underscore the need for all to strive to build and protect harmony,” Mr Malalika told the audience.
He implored other tour operators across the world to ensure they do something in their respective countries, as part of their corporate social responsibility, in a bid to build and preserve peace.
Inspired by Sri Chinmoy’s vision of a more peaceful world, an international network of volunteers Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run organises the race.
In each country, coordinators locally partner with schools, community groups, sporting organisations, city and state government departments to bring the run to the community as a service for encouraging international friendship and understanding.
The Peace Run relay teams in each participating country are made up of runners from all walks of life, who have dedicated their time and energy to bring the Run to communities around the globe.
According to Vasanti Niemz from German, the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run is a global torch relay that embodies humanity’s universal aspiration for peace.
Since its inception in 1987, the run has traversed over 150 nations and territories and touched the lives of millions of people.
“We estimate the torch has been carried over 395,000 miles (632,000 kilometres) since,” Ms Nemz told the audience.
“The Peace Run neither seeks to raise money nor highlight any political cause, but simply strives to create goodwill among peoples of all nations,” she added.
By passing the symbolic torch from one person to the next, the relay offers people from many nations the opportunity for expressing their hopes and dreams for a better and brighter future.
“Passing the torch from one person to the next unites us together in our common aspiration to offer something positive to our world – together we can make a difference,” she stressed.
