Olympic Day by Will Richardson | Feb 18, 2006 | Whitewater | 0 comments By Jessie Stone Learn more about Jessie Stone here February 18, 2006 I think everybody has days that go down in your personal history as days you will never forget. I am especially reminded of that watching the Olympics right now. Every athlete competing has worked long and hard to be where they are and you can see and feel it in their performances. And it is so exciting and inspiring to see. For me, my Olympic unforgettable day occurred on January 18th, 2006. This was the day that we finally opened the Soft Power Health clinic in Kyabirwa village near Bujagali Falls in Uganda. This day was the realization of a big dream and the manifestation of a lot of hard work of many people. It had been three years almost to the day that I had made my first trip to Uganda with EJ, Clay, Jay, and Chris Emerick, and had been introduced to the Mighty Nile River and the devastating effects of Malaria first hand thanks to EJ’s willing self sacrifice. That trip was a life changing experience for me. Thus, the day was all the more special for me that all those same people were there for the opening plus Kristine, Emily, Dane, Nick, Devon, and Stephen. And it was not just having everyone there but the fact that everyone had gotten involved in helping to make the clinic ready to open. While I was running around getting all the medical equipment and drugs for the clinic, everyone else was pitching in with last minute details like painting the building, cleaning the inside, digging ditches, and planting the garden in front of the clinic which Emily and Kristine had put extra effort into doing, more on that later. (And I would like to add a special note here that if you ever need to really clean a sink, Kristine is your woman!) When the time came for the official opening, and believe me in Uganda, they love things done “officially” with all the pomp and circumstance that goes along with it, we had the entire village of Kyabirwa turn out plus a whole group of other interested people from around Jinja and Kampala. To be standing before all those people and telling them about our clinic and the services it will offer the community on that day with so much support was one of the most magical experiences of my life. After many sleepless nights and hours of deliberation of how the heck was I going to pull this one off, it was finally happening. One thing is for sure though, none of it would have happened without lots of help from people who cared and I am so grateful for that and for everyone’s ongoing support. And it also reinforces one of my favourite sayings, “Anything is possible with unlimited enthusiasm!” Jessie Submit a Comment Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ