Canadian boxers raise funds for sanitation in Ghana

Some first-time boxers in Winnipeg stepped into the ring on Thursday night for The Clean Fight, a fundraiser that aims to knock out sanitation problems in rural Ghana.

Fourteen competitors, all women, showed off the skills they've learned in 90 days of intense training and battled it out — all to raise money for a latrine and hygiene project in the African nation.

In addition to the training, the competitors had to raise at least $5,000 each.

"Between all the fundraising and the training — five to six days a week — and a full-time job, it's been really tough, really gruelling," said Trish "Bad Intentions" Kordalchuk, a travel agent.

Kordalchuk and the others had never boxed before, but they signed up with the Winnipeg-based charity iDE Canada to take part in the three-month challenge, which included training at In This Corner Boxing.

"I have a hard time saying no to things, so I said yes without even thinking about it, and here I am," she said, adding that the challenge has been rewarding in many ways.

"I've travelled all over the world and I've seen a lot of poverty throughout my journeys, so when I heard about this, I thought it was a good cause and my time to give back to something." 'It's going to change lives'

Bill Pratt, iDE Canada's executive director, said more than $50,000 was raised by Thursday's event, and it will go toward helping people in rural Ghana.

"We are hoping to reach about 300,000 Ghanaians who have no toilet — the idea of even having a toilet doesn't even exist," he said.

"We're going to be introducing this whole new program, which is pretty darned exciting, so it's going to change lives."

The charity estimates that 2.5 billion people around the world have no clean and safe place to go to the bathroom.

Better sanitation would help prevent diarrhea, which iDE Canada says is the second-leading cause of death worldwide for children under the age of five.

The Clean Fight events in Winnipeg have raised more than $185,000 over the last two years, according to the organization.

Unfortunately for Kordalchuk, she lost her bout on points — she said her opponent "got a few more punches in than I did" — but she raised more than $7,000.

As for her new amateur boxing career, Kordalchuk said she plans to give the sport a year to see if she can throw more punches.