By WFWP, IAYSP, and UPF Dominican Republic
With the participation of 47 cyclists, the Peace Road 2023 began in the Dominican Republic, which consisted of 2 parts, carried out in 2 days August 26-27, 2023, running a total of 108 kilometers. And we had around 100 participants who went through all the steps of the event. The Peace Road started at km 0 of the Independencia Park, in the city of Santo Domingo, with a prayer by the national leader of the Dominican Republic, Bernardo Cruz, at 6:00 a.m. The first stage began with 27 cyclists from CARP, IAYSP, and the second generation, who offered with great devotion 80km to the farm harmony and peace. Our young people were grateful to God and True Parents for allowing them to offer this condition.
The second stage of Peace Road 2023 in the Dominican Republic began at the City Hall of the City of Juan Adrián, with the participation of Mayor Eduardo Cruz and the Mayor of the City of Piedra Blanca, Radamés Contreras.
The inaugural ceremony began with the opening words of the master of ceremony, followed by the prayer by the national leader Bernardo Cruz, then the notes of the Dominican national anthem were sung, the words of welcome were given by the host of the city, Mayor Eduardo Cruz, who thanked the founders of our sacred community, the True Parents, for choosing the city of Juan Adrián, to carry out the route for peace 2023 for the second time, then the sub-regional director of the Celestial Caribbean, Leonidas Belliard, gave the words of greeting and motivation, so that the cyclists would give their best as a contribution to world peace.
Later, the secretary general of UPF Mr. Cesar Regalado, gave an explanation of the meaning and origins of the Route for Peace 2023, he explained that True Parents want to connect the world through the route for peace, then the mayor of Piedra Blanca gave a word of thanks to our institution for thinking about peace and cooperation between peoples, he said: “I will make my contribution by doing the entire route by bicycle”.
The route for peace was carried out with the great support of the two municipalities, who brought the firefighters’ equipment and escorted the entire route, the municipal police franking and securing the roads, the municipalities also provided an ambulance, for any eventuality. A commission of the national police guaranteed our safety.
The route for Peace 2023 concluded with a closing ceremony with words of thanks from the president of IAYSP, Mr. Carlos Hernandez, and words of congratulations from Mayor Eduardo Cruz. The 40 best cyclists, who completed the entire 108-kilometer route, were awarded the medal of the Route for Peace 2023, Dominican Republic, and finally, the final photos were taken.
