A GROUP of women and men are gearing up to 'Walk Like a Mum' to support women in Africa.

The team of 10 women and two men, with members from York, Newcastle, Manchester and Blackpool, is currently in training for a ten-mile walk, each carrying ten kilogrammes, in aid of Team Mum, a child.org-sponsored charity event to raise money for mums and babies in rural Kenya.

Stephanie Solly is helping to organise the walk, which will set off from the museum gardens in York at midday on April 13 and will be attended by the Lord Mayor.

She said: "I am currently training to be a midwife so this cause is particularly close to my heart.

"Women in Kenya have to walk ten miles whilst in labour to get to their nearest clinic and one in 26 babies will die before they reach their first birthday. The money raised will arm new mums with the health information and support they need to keep themselves and their babies safe and healthy and provide transport to and from clinics."

Emma Oxley said donations would be matched by UK AID until April 30, and said members of the public could join the group for the beginning of the walk.

She said: "I am really excited for the day and am so proud already with how much we have raised for this amazing charity.

"I particularly wanted to be part of this campaign because of my fundamental belief that wherever you are born you should be given the equal opportunity to live. One in 26 babies die in rural Kenya, compared to one in 260 in the UK, which means that simply by being born in these rural communities you are 200 times more likely to die before your first birthday. I don't think this is right and therefore I wanted to support a charity that has sustainable, working solutions which will arm new mums and communities with the knowledge that will protect their babies."

To donate to the group, go to https://child.org/me/team/walk-mum-d