METSATAREKE HEALTH PARK HAS OPENED!

METSATAREKE HEALTH PARK HAS OPENED!

Metsatareke orphanage’s health park was opened in Siimusti last Friday, a day before Estonia’s one hundredth birthday. Completed through the initiative of the founder of JJ-Street dance school and amateur athlete Joel Juht, as well as the support of many donators, the facility can be used not only by children of the orphanage, but also other sports enthusiasts.

In April of last year, Joel Juht from Jõgevamaa completed one of the roughest ultra-marathons in the world, the Marathon Des Sables, held already for the thirty-second time. Running across dunes and rocky plains, Juht completed a trek of 240 kilometers. He invited those who cheered on his crazy effort to donate to the Metsatareke health park project. Juht also dedicated the run from Tallinn to Jõgeva back in his homeland to raising money for the health park. Beyond 91 individual donors, the health park project was supported by the Jõgeva municipal government, JJ-Street dance school, JJ-street child and family fund, cultural society Vanaveski, Tiptiptap Ltd, Fimar Group Ltd, JSP Union Ltd, Streetshop ONE and Liipa farm. An especially large contribution came from Moreen Ltd. operating out of Siimusti, who constructed the sandy field for placing exercise equipment (supplied by Tiptiptap Ltd.)

Although the original plan was to construct the health park on the orphanage’s territory, it was eventually done near the orphanage by the public children’s playground and volleyball court. Had the park been on the orphanage’s territory, it could only be used by its residents (outsiders are forbidden from the premises), but now anyone can do sports and train there to improve their health.

Joel Juht expressed joy over his initially insane-seeming idea becoming realized thanks to kind supporters as he held the opening of the health park, and promised to come provide training instructions to the children of the orphanage sometime in the warmer season. He did already give a general idea of what can be done in the park at the opening, however.

“I hope that the Metsatareke health park project gives others the push they need to notice those that need help, and makes others think of what sorts of things can get done through community initiative,” Joel Juht said.

Post published by newspaper Vooremaa

You can find the list of wonderful supporters for the Siimusti Metsatareke health park project HERE.