Kiwi Mum Bikes 85KM To Bring Hope To Struggling Mums

Rotorua local Danielle Porteous is gearing up for the ride of her life tomorrow morning when she will cycle 85 kilometres from Rotorua to Taupo to raise money for the charity Mothers Helpers.

Ms Porteous has spent 4 months training and initially only managed to cycle 4 kilometres. Now, with a supportive coach by her side, Malcolm Hore, Danielle is managing 50km and she says the effort has been worth it:

"I am driven and determined to grow within myself on this journey and in turn help a good cause to help not only mothers but the next generation of children [so that they] have a healthy and happy family."

Mothers Helpers provides early intervention support to mothers experiencing depression/anxiety during pregnancy or after baby's born, helping them to recover as quickly possible to reduce the impact it can have on the whole family. The charity was set up by founder Kristina Paterson in 2010 in response to an estimate of 7,500 New Zealand women experiencing delays in diagnosis and treatment for Perinatal* Depression/Anxiety every year.

Paterson says "There is currently no Government funding to address delays in diagnosis and the only funded treatment options for most people are medication, when best practice says we should be offering talk therapy first to those with mild depression/anxiety. If it wasn't for the efforts for amazing people like Danielle Porteous, and those donating to her cause, we simply wouldn't be able to deliver this vital service - and that includes providing support to some of the families with young children who have lost a loved one in the recent Christchurch attacks."

Danielle Porteous begins her journey at 7am in Rotorua tomorrow morning with supporters filming her live. You can follow Danielle's journey at her @Yes Man Journey Facebook Page and donate to her give-a-little fundraising page here: https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/yes-man-journey

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