Martin Luther King Junior Elementary, located in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, LA welcomed us today. This school was the first to open in the Lower 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina.

Principal Doris Hicks was the driving force to ensure the school re-opened and could once again serve the children of New Orleans.

The students put into practice our message - Harmony begins in the heart of each one of us.

Salil receives hugs from some of the students.

Five close friends sharing harmony.

Everyone held the torch...

... and made a wish for harmony.

This teacher's wish was for all the students to achieve their utmost potential.

We finished by presenting a certificate of appreciation to the school.

Before heading out to our running route we caught up with an old friend Shannon Costello of Seattle currently living in New Orleans - she came to meet the team and offer her encouragement.

Tallulah, LA is a small town with a big heart. A supporter of the run since 1991, the current Tallulah Mayor, Eddie Beckwith, ran with local students about 2 miles into town.

Mayor Beckwith (in dark blue) was joined by Marathon Man Alfred McCleod (in sunglasses) who is locally reknowned for having run a marathon in every state.

The local choir was on hand to serenade the runners.

As part of the proceedings we presented torch bearer awards to Betty Moore and Stan Livingstone who have been instrumental in working with the World Harmony Run over the years.

World Harmony Run Executive Director, Salil Wilson (left) Tallulah Mayor, Eddie Beckwith (centre) present Alfred McCleod with the World Harmony Run Torch-Bearer Award.

During the Pledge of Allegiance.

Some of the track team relaxing after the run into town.

The Tallulah Senior Stars join the Mayor in passing the torch.

Parting shots...

– Salil

Distance: 24 miles

Team Members:
Salil Wilson (Australia), Homagni Baptista (Australia), Uddyogini Hall (Australia), Shyamala Stott (Scotland), Banshidhar Medeiros (USA), Jitavrata Jacobs (USA), Dmitry Grigorevskiy (Ukraine), Anne Leinonen (Finland), Vladimir Salnicov (Moldova)

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

Gallery: See more images!