A 24-hour sport fundraiser to support orphans and women living with HIV in Ethiopia will take place at Westlock’s Rotary Spirit Centre March 18-19.
Hosted by Rainbow for the Future, the first-ever Sports For Ethiopia will see participants walk, run, curl and play hockey to raise money towards building a school, supporting orphans and cover living expenses for women living with HIV.
Participants must raise $200 to participate and can choose their sport. Teams will rotate games for 24 hours, starting at 5 p.m., culminating in a banquet Saturday, March 19 at the Westlock Community Hall.
As part of the fundraiser, mayor Ralph Leriger has agreed to try to walk 10 kilometres to raise money. He’ll also carry 50 pounds on the hike to help simulate conditions for women fetching water in the drought-stricken country.
“Drinking water is important,” Leriger said. “Many of those women have to travel as much as five kilometres to get water for their families and carry it on their backs.”
Nearly 250 people have registered so far, but Rainbow for the Future chairman Leo Seguin said he thinks the fundraiser will reach 300 by the official puck drop on Friday.
“There’s no limit as to how many people can sign up for this,” Seguin said. “Hockey-wise, we can place people on teams. At this point we can handle hundreds of walkers, so we can accommodate anyone up until the final day.”
This is the event’s first year, but Rainbow for the Future has been making regular visits to Ethiopia for years. The last trip was in February, giving board members a first hand look at the devastation the country is suffering at the hands of drought.
Rainbow for the Future is a Canadian development agency dedicated to organizing sustainable development with a focus on aid to the African nation.
Ethiopia is primarily an agricultural country, with nearly 80 per cent of total employment in the farming sector.
El Nińo, Seguin explained, has devastated farms across the country, creating a greater need than ever for foreign aid.
“We’re praying for rain in March,” Seguin said. “They haven’t had rain in 18 months. If it doesn’t come, it’ll be a real challenge.”
The money, Seguin added, will help those struggling to overcome drought.
“Every person who participates will provide food, lodging, school books, school uniforms and school fees for a year, or it’ll help an HIV women get a micro-loan that will look after them for a year.”
“I’ve been working in humanitarian aid for 30 years and the situation in parts of Africa is grave. The food bank just put out an appeal. There’s 20 million people there who are in grave difficulty,” Seguin said.
“You don’t want to holiday in Ethiopia.”
Seguin added that he’s particularly proud of Westlock for raising the money it has for the project.
“We’ve helped a million people from this area of Alberta in Ethiopia,” Seguin said.
“It hasn’t been a good year here, either, but small communities are good that way. If there’s a need it gets filled.”
