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DEH CHO
Four walks in three Deh Cho communities have raised approximately $4,500 to fight cancer.

Christine Tsetso, left, prepares to take her daughter Amelia Rose Tsetso, 1, on her first Run for Our Lives in Fort Simpson on Sept. 18. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

On Sept. 18 a Terry Fox Run was held in Fort Providence while Fort Simpson simultaneously hosted its own Terry Fox Run and Run for Our Lives event.

Fort Liard also held a Terry Fox Run on Sept. 9.

In Fort Simpson, approximately 30 community members set out at 1 p.m. either walking or running on two routes that were two and five kilometres respectively.

Some participants were pushing strollers or pulling wagons and a few had dogs on leashes in tow.

The participation was lower than normal probably because of the weather, said Rebecca Rowe, the branch manager for the Fort Simpson CIBC.

A cold, light drizzle fell on the participants as they made their way around the village before returning to the recreation centre for hotdogs and hamburgers. Rowe and the other CIBC staff organized the local Run for Our Lives.

Rowe said what she likes about the event is that funds raised in the North stay in the North.

The money is used to support breast cancer and breast health programs and services and equipment.

A digital mammogram machine purchased with funds raised in the North is coming to Stanton Territorial Hospital, said Rowe.

At the end of the walk, Rowe announced that the event raised more than $3,000 in the village. Fundraising efforts will continue until Oct. 3 and Rowe said she hopes to see the number reach $6,000.

Christine Tsetso was one of the participants in Run for Our Lives. Because her mother has had breast cancer twice, Tsetso said she has a personal connection to the cause the event supports.

Pat Waugh, who participated in the Terry Fox Run, has also been touched by cancer.

Waugh lost her mother to breast cancer and a sister to lung cancer. For Waugh, the walk has become a family event.

When she first participated in the Terry Fox Run in the village in 1981, Waugh pushed her son Jake in a stroller and her young daughter Tracy walked beside her.

This year, Waugh was joined by Tracy and her two children Charlie and Ehndaa Antoine as well as Waugh's other grandchildren Shaznay Waugh and Zehro'h Catholique-Waugh.

"That's pretty awesome," she said.

Waugh said for her the Terry Fox Run has a special meaning.

"It just shows people that each person can make a difference," she said.

In Fort Providence approximately 30 community members participated in the Terry Fox Run under an overcast sky that threatened rain. Participants were given the choice of walking a variety of routes ranging from one to 12 km, said Dan Deschamps, the hamlet's recreation co-ordinator.

One group chose the 12-km route to the Big River Service Centre and back.

It took them approximately one and a half hours to finish the walk.

Some participants walked or biked eight kilometres to the airport.

Approximately $700 was raised in the hamlet, Deschamps said.

In Fort Liard, Echo Dene School held its annual Terry Fox Run on Sept. 9.

Students started by walking down the hamlet's main street and then, based on their ages, branched off onto longer or shorter routes.

All of the students participated and there was beautiful weather for the walk, said Reed Smith, the school's principal.

The school raised approximately $800 for the Terry Fox Run, said Smith.

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