Rich Scarcella: Berks native Betsy King continues to make a difference with Golf Fore Africa

Jun. 4—Betsy King had traveled all over the world and had been to many countries as a professional golfer.

But when she made a trip to Africa in 2006 with World Vision International — a humanitarian aid, development and advocacy organization — she experienced something she had seen nowhere else.

"It was seeing poverty in an area where everyone is poor," King said. "No one has electricity. No one has running water. People really are wondering where their next meal is coming from. It was just something I had never seen."

That trip turned out to be a life-altering event for the Berks County native and World Golf Hall of Fame member. A year later, she founded Golf Fore Africa, an organization that has raised a staggering $14 million to bring clean water, improved sanitation and hygiene education to 420 communities and to 60 health clinics and schools in Africa.

It has become a mission for the Exeter grad, a devout Christian and a six-time major champion.

"It's definitely different from what I thought my retirement would be," King said. "You're traveling so much when you're playing, I thought it'd be kind of nice to stay home more when I retire."

That's hardly been the case. She estimates that she's made 25 trips to Africa.

She also travels to several Golf Fore Africa-sponsored events a year, like the one it conducted this week at The Country Club of North Carolina in conjunction with the U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in nearby Southern Pines, N.C.

King was joined by Golf Fore Africa executive director Kendall Dye and three participants in the Women's Open: Angela Stanford, Sophia Popov and Ally Ewing.

They held a golf clinic and demonstration with a question-and-answer session, followed by a cocktail reception. All proceeds will benefit Golf Fore Africa.

"We have a pro-am in New York in the middle of June," King said. "We've already had one in Scottsdale (near her home in Arizona). We're doing another one in Scottsdale in December. We've done events down in Florida, too."

During these events, King said she hopes she raises awareness of her organization's goals and money to fund its projects in Africa.

She has visited such countries as Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. Bringing clean water to children and families living in extreme poverty has become one of Golf Fore Africa's top priorities.

"We didn't immediately start raising money for clean water," she said. "We had funded some different things through partnering with World Vision. We had raised funds for the construction of a medical clinic in southern Rwanda. We had done some basic housing, 45 houses in Lesotho.

"As time went on, it just seemed that it was really hard to do any kind of development if a community didn't have access to clean water. People aren't going to school because they're sick or because they have to walk for water."

Through World Vision, Golf Fore Africa has funded wells in more than 400 communities and about 55 mechanized systems at health clinics or schools so they can benefit thousands of people instead of a few.

"I certainly didn't understand that one in 10 people in the world do not have access to clean water," King said. "That means having a clean water source within a 15-minute walk."

She's retired from championship golf after winning 34 times on the LPGA Tour, including U.S. Women's Open titles in 1989-90 and the Women's PGA Championship in 1992. She planned to play her final competitive tournament at the 2019 U.S. Senior Women's Open at Pine Needles, but had appendicitis a month earlier and could not play.

She hasn't played golf since she fell and broke her right femur while visiting her brother, Lee, in Florida in April 2021. She underwent emergency surgery and then a second operation in December to remove the hardware that helped heal her leg.

She had a sixth surgery in April on her right leg, originally injured from her playing field hockey and basketball at Furman, to revise a knee replacement. She has limited range of motion and is walking with a cane. She hopes to return to Pennsylvania this summer after a two-year absence.

Even though King won't be able to travel to Africa this year, she remains passionate about Golf Fore Africa and has found ways to remain active, such as connecting with present and future donors.

"When we take them over there, we take them to see the system or systems they've funded," King said. "They get to meet the community they're helping. It's usually quite an emotional trip for them to see things firsthand."