MAGRATH, Alta. — There are no rodeos in Zambia, but a rodeo held here April 6 will help orphaned Zambian children have a better life.
That’s what Billie Heggie hopes.
The woman from Raymond, Alta., visited Zambia in 2009 with Family Legacy Missions.
There she visited the Tree of Life Children’s Village, which provides homes for orphans and children whose parents have abandoned them.
“It totally changed my life,” Heggie said as she paused while organizing rodeo activities last week.
In Zambia she met Francis, a seven-year-old boy, and became his sponsor.
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Since then, she has visited the orphanage and Francis four times.
“It has been amazing to see the change in him alone, but I’ve also been able to see over the last few years kids that have come to (the camp) who we find out are living on the streets. They may be 10 or 11 years old.”
Heggie said there are more than one million orphans in Zambia, in part due to high rates of HIV and other diseases in the adult population, as well as cultural mores in which men may refuse to care for a wife’s children from a previous marriage.
Heggie and a friend vowed to raise enough money to build another house in the village, a $100,000 project. Kingdom House will be the 44th home on the village property and will house 12 orphans.
About $10,000 has been raised since the project started in January, and Heggie hoped the rodeo would raise another $10,000.
More fundraising projects are planned and donations are accepted online at www.buildingkingdomhouse.com.
Weekend rodeo action began with activities for young riders, followed by steer wrestling and roping. Appearances by trick rider Niki Flundra and Heartland actress Amber Marshall were also planned. Funds were raised through a silent auction, dinner and 50-50 tickets.
