http://youtu.be/eEMV72hCpcY

“I know I can’t give up now, ‘though every cell in my body is shouting at me to stop. The thin air here at almost 6,000 metres is rasping my breathing in rapid gasps, cruelly teasing my lungs. My muscles are aching and spent. Pulling a tyre up this steep scree slope is surely a joke… it should be on a car somewhere far far below in the world of man… but no, here I am on this wild raw volcano with lava dirt in my eyes, my ears, every inch of me down to my fingernails… giving everything I have to pull this large round rubber thing held back by the frictioning face of the mountain… with energy coming from who knows where…

Why..ever..?   Because the tyre is symbolic for peace… holding all the Peace Messages… inscribed in bold lettering ‘pulling together for peace’… we’re each one pulling together for peace… somewhere up ahead is the World Peace Flame Lantern… leading the way… shining the light… we will not fail… together we’ll make it to the top of the mountain… as a team… in the same way every nation on Earth will pull together for peace… as humanity’s team… The birth of our new star heralds the time when each of us will be able to access the strength of our own inner peace… creating world peace…making a difference for everybody… for our Earth…”

The eleven members of the Peace Climb team reached the summit of Kilimanjaro around 4pm on UN Peace Day, struggling with the altitude, the severity of the climb and the pulling of the tyre.

 All the Peace Messages have been spoken, including one from every nation on Earth.

The Light of the World Peace Flame shines from the mountain.

Mount Kilimanjaro welcomes the peace climb team to school hut at 4,700 metres, our last camp before the summit attempt tomorrow morning.  We arrived in flowing mist and heavy snow and huddled into a tent with all our Tanzanian brothers who sang and read peace messages wonderfully expressing joy and love and warmth of heart for all people.

There is a great sense of togetherness.”

Loving greetings from the northern slopes of Kilimanjaro at 4100m on day 5 of the ascent.  All the team have struggled to acclimatize but are now feeling good and along with the Tanzania support crew there is a wonderful team spirit and joy of climbing for peace

The second stage of the peace mission has been completed, but not without an extreme struggle that pushed most of the team to limits, testing the resolve to keep going when the body decides it’s had enough!

Tess, Pete, Nicholas, Ann, Jackie, Jacob, Gideon, Mary, Nick and Mary’s brother Philip all summited Mt Meru at 4,500 metres after a three day climb through wonderful cloud forest and up into wild volcanic desert. They Continue reading →

Tess, Pete, Nicholas, Ann and Jackie have completed the first part of the peace mission.

They have visited the game parks of Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire. They have communed with elegant giraffes, stately elephants, prowling lions, fun wharthogs, sprightly impala, jumping gazzels, superior ostriches, little dikdiks, sturdy water-buffalo, proud water-buck, cheeky baboons, naughty monkeys, zebras crossing, gallumping hippos, wandering wildebeesties and watched with awe the flight of the eagle, vulture, stork and a multitude of little bright-coloured birds. It has been a great honour and a privalege to be part of this wealth of wonderful wildlife in an environment of abundant forest, open bush and baobab-strewn plains. Continue reading →

Tess Burrows talks to PositiveTV about her Kilimanjaro Peace Climb.

They are going to climb the 5,895 meters to the top in order to arrive in time for World Peace day on the 21st of September. They will carry with them the World Peace Flame, peace messages from the four corners of the globe AND they’ll be dragging a TYRE with them for good measure! Continue reading →

The advance party of the Kilimanjaro Peace Climb, Tess, Pete, Ann, Jackie and Nicholas have arrived in Tanzania via Addis Ababa. Africa has greeted them with warm and lovely people, a temperature of 36 degrees, red dry parched Earth, water shortages and the expression of extreme poverty. After some sleep they look forward to some time tuning in with the land and the people. HACUNA MATATA (no worries!)

We are honoured that the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has sent us a Peace Message to speak out from the top of Kilimanjaro. It will be the linchpin for the Nation Messages:-

MESSAGE ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE 21 September 2011

Every year on the International Day of Peace, people around the world commit to non-violence… and to harmony among all peoples and nations. Peace is our mission; our day-to-day quest. This year’s theme focuses on the timely issue of peace and democracy.
Democracy is a core value of the United Nations. It is crucial for human rights. It provides channels for resolving differences. It gives hope to the marginalized… and Continue reading →