Our daughter
was excited as she pulled on her socks and shoes.
She had had
a long day at school with the on-going Book Week and after-school activities.
Still, she
is happy to go walking for 4-5 kilometres every day in this week.
...
To inculcate
the habit of walking among children, the Dutch Committee had organised the
Walking Event last week.
The email
announced that the children would walk in different year groups. The very young
children would walk with a parent. The older groups had two supervisors each.
The supervisor’s
folders contained attendance sheets, route instructions, route maps, and first
aid plasters.
If the
children walked four out of five days, they would get a medal. For some
children, it was the first year of participating in this event, whereas for a
few other lucky children it was the seventh year. Their medals would indicate the
number of years they had participated.
There was
spacing between the groups so that they would not bump into each other because
all the groups took the same route. Each day they took a little break halfway
down the road.
The 4-5 kilometres routes
were different on each day. One day, the dotted route on the map snaked through
a wadi and climbed a hill. Another day it meandered through a lush green garden
or wandered along the main paved street near a luxury hotel.
Friendships
were formed along the route and the children had many adventures.
Parents
walked along with babies in strollers and babies on backs. Children sang along to
some marching tunes. They helped each other by tying loose shoelaces, holding
hands on difficult paths, and waiting for those who lagged behind.
The
photographer of the event popped up from nowhere at intervals trying to capture
“the moment”.
At the end
of the event, the children were given ice lollies and medals.
The Women’s
Band of the Royal Oman Police played as the children savoured their moment of
glory.
