So the post election time here in Uganda has been really chalked full of kayaking and other fun stuff. We did finally open our new Family Planning Center on February 23rd. It was a really great day and a bit of nail biter because all of sudden the Ugandan government decided on the 22nd of Feb that the 23rd would be a Public Holiday. The organization we work with to do the permanent methods of family planning called Marie Stopes called us on the morning of the 23rd and said they could not work on a public holiday. Luckily, we were able to reason with them as we had 40 women waiting for our combined services of family planning and we really did not want to disappoint them. By the time the day was over, 22 women had gotten tubal ligations, 15 women had gotten long term implants, and 9 women had gotten IUDs. It was a great grand opening for the family planning center. We even made it back up to super hole that afternoon for more paddling and training – an amazing way to end an already memorable day.
On Sunday the 27th of Feb, we did an amazing group paddle with rafts and kayaks for the last official run through silverback. It was a fantastic day, and we spent a lot of time at silverback both above it and below it enjoying the show of all the rafts and kayaks coming through and just taking it all in. Even the construction workers at the dam stopped to watch the show. It was very sad to know that this day had finally come but it was still very festive to share it with everyone. NRE put on a great feast afterwards and there was the largest turnout for this “funeral” celebration for Silverback than for any event I have seen here ever. I was so glad to be here for that day and to share it with my teammates, in particular EJ and Clay because we had all first come here together 8 years ago and EJ was the reason I came here in the first place.
Another amazing thing about having a bunch of my team mates here is that I do have a very good excuse to spend even more time paddling, and I am getting to learn so much! It has been very inspirational to watch and get help and insight from everyone as I work on new moves and get to try new things. Emily is a phenomenon. I am always impressed with what she is doing and her work ethic – she is definitely EJ’s daughter. Super hole is so great because you really can try any move there, and it’s very forgiving and very fun and the water is so warm! At the moment, Trevor Clark, a photographer from the Tahoe area is here taking photos of everyone and shooting some video. It’s been great to have him here and he has gotten to paddle a very little bit too. I have been dragging him up to the clinic and off to malaria education sessions and net sales too. He has been a great sport and game for anything. I hope he gets more time surfing before he leaves. Time is going quickly. I can’t believe most people will be leaving in a week. I will certainly make the most of this special time.