Cancer is an unapologetic thief, stealing lives without discrimination. Every one of us has been impacted by it to some degree—including our children. But some local kids are turning their own stories of loss into hope. Today we tell the story of Zoé Bardal.

Niverville resident Zoé Bardal is actively fundraising in the name of cancer. At a tender age of 11, cancer has already robbed her of some of the most important people in her life.

“I’ve lost some people to cancer and I have some people fighting cancer right now,” says Zoé. “My Amma (grandmother) and my Afi (grandfather), they died of cancer… My [other] grandma is a two-time survivor.”

Just this month, Zoé also attended the funeral of her great aunt Susan, who recently lost her battle with cancer, too.

But Zoé’s drive is to help children suffering from the effects of cancer treatment, and she’s found the perfect way to do that. The family discovered Wigs for Kids, a volunteer-run organization which provides custom-made human-hair wigs for children and teens at the B.C. Children’s Hospital. Most often, the hair loss is a direct result of cancer treatments or serious illness.

As a figure skating enthusiast, Zoé has been growing out her long locks for five years. Figure skating competitions, of which she’s attended many, require a high bun, which is difficult to create with short hair. This year, she decided to retire her figure skates and take up a new hobby—scuba diving, a sport she feels would be better served with shorter hair.

But the inspiration to cut off her trailing mane actually began with her family.

“It started off just as a joke because whenever I would complain that it was in my face, because it’s windy, my brother and my dad would always say, ‘Well, just chop it off,’” Zoé says with a grin. “So me and my mom just started talking about chopping it off and giving it to cancer.”

Zoé’s mom, Leslie, says they soon discovered that it wasn’t quite that simple.

“We talked about it for quite a while and then we did lots of research,” Leslie says. “The local charity for Cancer Care Manitoba, they have a division for making wigs as well. At first they changed it that you have to [donate] 12 inches [of hair] and Zoé only has about eight inches in order to have the haircut that she wants.”

Since that time, the foundation has completely switched to the use of synthetic hair. The Bardals’ furthered their search into Ontario, only to discover that those foundations have enough donated human hair to make wigs until 2022 and are no longer accepting donations.

They finally discovered the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Wigs for Kids program, still accepting human hair donations of eight inches in length or longer. It was a perfect fit for Zoé.

“We have friends and family who’ve been touched by cancer in B.C.… so, to us, it didn’t matter where the kids were,” Leslie says. “It was just for kids.”

The also discovered, upon reviewing the foundation’s website, that human hair isn’t the only requirement for a children’s wig. In fact, it costs the foundation $1,800 in donated money to create the wig.

Undeterred, Zoé set out to complete her hair donation by raising money to go along with it, even though it’s not a requirement when she sends in her hair. She and her mom set up a donation link on the foundation’s website. They forwarded messages across email and social media, inviting donations.

“We went to their website and they gave us our own little page,” says Zoé. “That’s where we fundraise… Also, I’m planning on going door to door with some flyers.”

So far, Zoé has raised $265. By the end of June, she’s hoping to gather up the donations and take a scissor to her hair, sending it all off to the foundation.

She’s been informed that the donation receipt will be followed by a letter of thanks accompanied by a story about one child who’s received a wig from the foundation. Unfortunately, due to a variety of circumstances, the foundation will not be able to connect her with the child that receives Zoé’s hair.

But this young lass is okay with that. She’s comforted in knowing that she was able to make a difference in someone’s life—someone who might not have had all the opportunities she’s been given. She is, after all, an active young lady with big aspirations.

This summer, Zoé will be joining Niverville’s flag rugby team for the second year, a sport she picked up with her father’s encouragement.

“My dad played rugby and he wanted to show me a game, so we watched a game with our favourite team, the All Blacks [from New Zealand],” Zoé says. “I thought, ‘Oh, this looks really cool,’ so we started looking into ways for me to try it.”

“She’s a powerhouse,” says Leslie. “She is a really fast runner and she has awesome aim and good catching skills, and so her dad got really excited that this could go somewhere.”

If that wasn’t enough, Zoé’s also looking forward to summer scuba lessons at the Pan Am Pool in Winnipeg. Her open water scuba certification will take place at West Hawk lake on July 6.

“I’ve always loved the ocean, so then I actually realized that I could be in that environment and breathe in it, too. I was really excited [to try it],” Zoé says.

Indeed, with this much passion and zeal for life, it’s hard to believe she couldn’t do anything she sets her mind to.