From Cochrane to Cambodia, Kids helping kids

Noelle Hjelte
Wednesday March 28, 2007

From Cochrane to Cambodia, local kids are raising money to help orphan children in Phnom-Penh. The Kids for Christ are putting on a musical drama called ‘On the Trail of Billy Baxter’. While the production is free to attend, they will be asking for donations after the performance. All funds raised will go to A Place of Rescue, an orphanage for families of AIDS victims.

Kerry Johnsen is the director of ‘On the Trail of Billy Baxter’ and she thinks it is important to encourage community involvement“We want the community to realize this is not just a church event, it’s a community event, “said Johnsen. “...these kids have worked hard all year (putting the performance together).”The money raised will go specifically to buying bicycles for the children for their eleventh birthday.

A Place of Rescue currently houses over 100 orphans and when a child turns 11 they must go to a school farther away, two to three miles from the orphanage. Without the bicycles, which cost $80 each, they have no way to get an education.

“There’s little kids who don’t have any way to get to school,” said Chris Johnsen, one of the Kids for Christ who plays a detective in the performance. “This is one way we can help.”‘On the Trail of Billy Baxter’ is about school bullying and the challenges young people face today. Although there are religious elements to the performance, Kerry Johnsen says there will be no sermon and the play deals with a variety of issues.

“It’s basically about how this little boy changes, “Johnsen said. “It’s about a lot of issues; when kids are worried or scared.”Organizers are hoping to raise $1,000 dollars from Cochrane for the charity. People who are not able to attend can still make a donation and get a tax-deductible receipt.‘On the Trail of Billy Baxter’ opens for a one-night only performance on Saturday, March 31 at 7p.m. at the Cochrane Alliance Church, 902 Glenbow Drive.

For more information on the performance contact Lydia Parrott at 932-6100.For details on A Place of Rescue go to www.placeofrescue.com.