A group of international runners passed through Montezuma County last week.
The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, an international torch relay, stopped at Kemper Elementary School on Thursday afternoon.
According to a news release, for more than 30 years, the Peace Run has traversed 150 nations in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia as a symbol of humanity’s universal aspiration for a more peaceful world.
The group that visited Cortez left New York City on April 16 and continued to run to Bluff, Utah, on Thursday night.
At Kemper, four representatives from the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run taught the students about their organization’s views on world peace, answered questions and interacted with students for nearly an hour.
The group presented Cortez Mayor Karen Sheek and Kemper Elementary School Principal Jamie Haukeness with certificates of appreciation, artwork and passed them the peace torch.
At the end, students were given the opportunity to hold the peace torch and make a wish for peace, while guided by members of the organization.