The project

UMWA was founded in 2013. UMWA means „unlimited motion with ambition“. It is the combination of a physical performance that we perform in order to draw attention to a social grievance. In 2018 we are planning a project called “DO IT! Danube own impulse tour”. This involves paddling down the river Danube in a kayak from its spring until it flows into the Black Sea. By paddling down the river using our own strength, without the support of a motor, we want to call attention to the fact that not everyone gets the chance in life to use the strength and skills they have. We are doing a “Charity Paddling” for a project called Rainbow Children Centre in Kenya. The Centre gives children with a physical disability not only a home, but also the opportunity to go to school and educate themselves. This is probably the most important basis for an independent life in a society where having a disabled baby is seen as a punishment from God and where disabled people have to live on the edge of society.

The river Danube has its spring only a few kilometres from where we grew up. We like the idea of starting from a place near home and following a river along its most extreme points through ten countries until it leads us to the Black Sea. The tour will be 2810 kilometres long and after paddling through the southern part of Germany we are going to pass through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, and Serbia. In the Danube Delta, right before the river flows into the Black Sea, it divides into many branches. Two of these branches flow through Ukraine and Moldavia. Since it is not possible to start paddling in the Danube directly from its spring in Donaueschingen, we plan to cover the first few kilometres by foot before starting to paddle in Hausen.

Source: Pasch-Net

We will start our tour on 6th August 2018 from the spring of the river Danube. Paddling 50 kilometers a day with an average speed of 6,5 km per hour we plan to reach the Black sea at the beginning of October. There are also four free days in the schedule which we may take in case of dangerous weather conditions or in case of health issues. Since we take a GPS tracker with us it will be possible to follow or tour on our homepage and to know exactly where we are.