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GLOBAL NEWS
GOING DUTCH FOR CHARITY
In the Cycling for Children group there were 80 pupils who had pledged to help less fortunate children by raising funds through personal endeavour, and 60 adult riders to help boost the amounts raised. Each child had pledged to raise at least £500, with adults raising at least £1250 and in the case of business people at least £2500. The cyclists were accompanied by a team of twenty volunteers who helped with the organisation of the event.
All the cyclists, from Anuj Dodhia Cyclists persevered with their challenge
(11) the youngest to Chandrakant Shah despite injuries and other obstacles
(57) the oldest, successfully met the On Sunday 28 July, an extraordinary demanding challenge of the 200km sight filled the streets of Zeist, Holland, ride without any major mishaps. To bringing the town to a halt as a date, a staggering £150,000 has been spectacular convoy of 140 cyclists sped pledged in sponsorship towards the Town Hall. There was
The organisers of Cycling for tremendous elation as the cyclists came Children were pleased to be able to to the end of the exhausting but exhila
demonstrate that these relatively rating journey. On 25 July 2002, these privileged children participating in this cyclists started off in a convoy of 160 event care enough to make such a people from London to Berg en Dal in personal effort to help improve the Holland to begin a challenging three- lives of less fortunate children around day 200km sponsored cycle to Zeist. the world. The participants, in turn, The group had come together under the felt that their time and effort had been banner of a project entitled Cycling for well spent. For instance, Prakash and Children, a joint charitable venture Geeta Mehta reflected that "every between Veerayatan UK and second, minute and hour that we spent Shishukunj International Projects. The together with the whole group of money raised by the sponsored bike Cycling for Children was truly inspiraride in the Netherlands will fund eight tional and has positively contributed to charities that support and educate our outlook on life." Rahul Patalia, a disadvantaged children in the UK, the fellow cyclist, admitted that the team Netherlands, Kenya and India.
spirit was fun and very rewarding." ROYALS VISIT LEICESTER JAIN TEMPLE On 3 September 2002 - the first day of Queen's Golden Jubilee Tour of the the Jain Shvetambara Paryushan festival UK, their purpose being to demonstrate - the Earl and Countess of Wessex that Christian and non-Christian visited the Jain Centre in Leicester, communities are central to England. Prince Edward and his wife contemporary Britain. Sophie were representing the Queen in During their visit, the Earl and her Golden Jubilee year, and this event Countess of Wessex were taken on a was one of several recent visits by the guided tour of Leicester's Jain temple, members of the royal family to non- which is the headquarters of Jain Samaj Christian faith institutions in the UK. Europe. The royal couple met the Each of these visits were part of the representatives of the Jain community,
POP STARS HELP ESTABLISH INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE The first ever day of global ceasefire and non-violence took place on 21 September 2002, a date which is now firmly fixed as the UN International Day of Peace. To celebrate and propagate this message of global peace, international pop stars including Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart and Neneh Cherry lined up to perform at a special concert in London. The show also included video messages from United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and the Dalai Lama.
Peace One Day, an apolitical, nonsectarian organisation which drove the initiative to establish the International Day of Peace, asked the people of the world to honour and celebrate the Day on 21 September. Its vision was that the Day would extend far beyond the cessation of violent conflict and represent an opportunity for the people of the world to create a moment of global unity. According to the organisation, the response was overwhelming. Support for this peace initiative was offered by many celebrities, including international music stars Dave Stewart and Jimmy Cliff, who collaborated to produce a special Peace One Day song. www.peaceoneday.org
who then informed them about the main principles of Jainism, in particular the principle of non-violence.
The Earl and Countess enjoyed their visit to the Jain Centre, and especially admired the architecture and the carvings inside the temple.
December 2002 - February 2003. Jain Spirit
Jain Education International 2010_03
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