THE MESSAGE

We run like water. We run FOR water.

We run to bring news to every person in every town we pass through—urgent news of a crisis that affects one in five of all of us on this earth.

We run to remember the sons and daughters, the mothers and fathers, the 6,000 human beings who die every day because they lack safe drinking water.

We run because time - and water, essential to our existence - is running out for all of us.

We run to tell a story that begins with suffering but ends with hope.

We run to include you in the story. You are the solution. Commitment is our only obstacle.

We run to tell a story that ends like this: twenty years from now we will have joined together to bring water – to bring life – to 200 million people around the world.

We run because, in the words of the Iroquois thanksgiving prayer printed on the baton we carry with us: "Water is life."

"We give thanks to all the Waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms - waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of water.

Now our minds are one."


---------------------------------

At every exchange point, every 10 miles (16km), we recite this message as we pass on the baton. This message was read at the United Nations on June 1st and will arrive there on September 4th. Day and night, rain or shine, the message goes on, bringing hope to those who thirst. Come to any of the over 1400 exchange points to hear the message for yourself. Water is life, and life is good in Hamburg.