A Douglas couple will cycle 500km across Malawi in aid of an African-based charity that is close to their hearts.

It will be a demanding challenge for Hattie Castle and Mikey Haslett, who will cycle in hot and dusty conditions this May in tribute of Hattie’s stepbrother, Sam Hayes, who took his own life at the age of 23 in 2013.

His parents have been developing ’Sam’s Village’ in Malawi to create a legacy that makes a positive change by supporting those in the local area become self-sufficient.

Hattie and Mikey decided to raise funds for the village last year when Hattie’s father asked her to get involved.

’We both love travelling and thought this would be an awesome way to travel through Malawi. We haven’t been to Sam’s Village yet, so this is a perfect opportunity,’ she said.

The training camp has already helped more than 200 people who were trained in carpentry, tailoring, metal work and more during a four month residential stay. These skills now give invaluable services to the community and help provide families with an income.

Hattie said: ’I’m excited to see Africa on such a real level and experience the amazing things Sam’s Village is doing for the people of Malawi.’

Mikey has been mountain biking every week with Hattie looking at joining him and taking part in some spin classes.

She listed possible hazards of the trip being ’a sore bum’, ’tiredness and fatigue’.

She added: ’But as Sam’s Village is at the end of the cycle it’s a very good incentive to keep pedaling.

’Sam had an infectious smile and all my memories are just about being silly and joking around with him. He made such an impression on everyone he met. My fondest memory of Sam is actually when we were out on a bike when we were younger and he was feeding me Creme Eggs to make sure I kept cycling. He was a good egg like that.’

They hope the cycle challenge will raise the profile of mental health.

Hattie said: ’Sometimes it’s the people who act the happiest who have the hardest problems.’

For more details, search: www.givey.com/pedalpower2020hattie/ and www.africanvision.org.uk/projects/sams-village/