Stress is a major factor in child abuse, according to one man who will walk 50km a day for a week to spread a message of hope.
Vasa Tasele, ambassador of Walk the Talk, will begin a fundraising walk from Auckland to Cape Reinga on Sunday, September 1.
Mr Tasele, who will trek with Joe O'Neill, says, "We are promoting exercise to de-stress, and we want to bring awareness of stress-related issues that are destructive to good communication between loved ones.
"Anyone can talk about child abuse. It's another thing to be face-to-face with people and communities in real need.
"If one person listens to our message and begins to acknowledge that they have an anger or violence problem that stems from stress, and they realise they need to do something about it, then that alone will be worth our effort."