Tali Gabai-Maiato will never forget the day her life changed forever.

It was December 28, 2013 when she got the call her younger sister Kaelenne had committed suicide.

She was completely shocked.

“Kaelenne was amazing, funny, outgoing and outspoken,” Mrs Gabai-Maiato said.

“She was very kind and sensitive. She wasn’t someone you would characterise as mentally ill because she never talked to anyone about depression.

“She had a break-up with a boyfriend who had an affair and when you put all your eggs in one basket it can be devastating. She thought that’s where her future was and lost it all and wasn’t in a very supportive situation. She was on an island, working in a bar in St Martin, and didn’t have any family or many friends around.”

Mrs Gabai-Maiato never considered she’d meet someone with a similar experience.

Deborah Pharoah-Williams lost her older brother Dennis through suicide in 2012.

The pair will run in the Appleby Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby on Monday. Their twofold mission, to raise awareness about depression and funding for the Bermuda Mental Health Foundation, will be supported by other members of their running club, The Weekenders.

Ms Pharoah-Williams said her brother was trying to get fit in the period just before he died. He started running and lost 95lbs.

They ran a race together in their hometown of Ottawa. She did her first full marathon; her brother completed his first half-marathon.

“He wasn’t sure he could do it and didn’t like running at first, but grew to love it,” she said.

“We celebrated together when we finished and he said, ‘I’m going to do this one every single year’. He would e-mail me running tips and wanted to run in Vancouver and would plan these running trips. After he died I told myself I would run every year in honour of him.”

Her brother was 49 when he died. Ms Pharoah-Williams said his death came from out of nowhere.

“He was always the one to look on the bright side and was enthusiastic and involved in things.

“We missed the signs in a way. He was going through a lot of huge life changes and he was obviously depressed, but in my mind and our family’s he would go through this and be fine.”

It’s one thing if you have suffered from depression your whole life and know the therapists or support groups to call, Ms Pharoah-Williams said. She believes her brother felt he had nowhere to turn.

“I wish more than anything that he could be running this with me, but I think this is the only thing that helps me give some sort of meaning to something that makes no sense.

“I’m hoping that my efforts can do something for someone out there that’s suffering.

“I feel like he is with me when I run. I have his picture right over my heart and I feel him there.”

Mrs Gabai-Maiato said the half-marathon was also her way of gleaning something positive from her sister’s death at age 33.

“There’s not a lot you can do when someone commits suicide because you can’t go back and fix it, so to be able to raise funds to help remove the stigma of people talking about mental illness and depression is important especially here on the Island where there isn’t anywhere for people to go that doesn’t have that stigma attached to it.

“We are really hoping the Foundation can use the funding for something like a mental health hotline. In some other countries when someone is in a suicidal state there are hotlines that they can call to talk to someone.

“I know for my sister, she called one of her friends when she was at her lowest point. She worked in a bar and most of her friends she had met through parties or social situations and this particular friend was at a casino when Kaelenne called.

“She told her to come out [and go] drinking and Kaelenne didn’t want to go. If you are feeling that way and have someone reliable to call it can make a huge difference.”

Both women want to help remove the shame and embarrassment attached to feelings of depression.

“I think a lot of people go through depression and feel like they want to end it,” Mrs Gabai-Maiato said. “So it’s very important if you don’t have the correct support system or internal coping mechanisms that you find some kind of outlet you can go to.

“We just need to end the stigma in general about talking about depression.

“People are embarrassed to talk about it, but it’s not something people should be ashamed of. Everyone goes through trying times and it’s important that there is someone and somewhere that they can go for help.”

• To help them raise $5,000, visit www.youcaring.com/runfordennisandkaelenne. You can also e-mail Mrs Gabai-Maiato directly on yogawithtali@gmail.com.