A round-the-island kayak event is to take place in support of charitable work protecting children from sexual abuse.

The eighth annual Kayak for Kids aims to raise awareness about child protection and sexual abuse prevention measures while raising funds for the charity Saving Children and Revealing Secrets.

Participants may either enter as individuals or relay teams and will travel around Bermuda on a kayak, paddleboard or surf ski.

Scars will provide participants with flyers to send out to potential donors, who will be asked to transfer money directly to the charity.

Each participant will be required to register as well as sign a release and waiver form. They will each receive a brightly coloured participant shirt that should be worn during the event for safety reasons.

Speaking on the importance of Scars, Debi Ray-Rivers, the charity’s founder and executive director, said: “Scars’ mission is paramount to our community and it can never stop because the protection of children is vital to the health of a country.

“We can all be affected from a child who has been abused. Child sexual abuse causes trauma and it can show up years later in many different ways. You can be a family member of a survivor; a partner or spouse of a survivor; a co-worker or a friend of a survivor. We must help in their healing process and we must support them throughout their life.

“Sadly, sexual abuse of children has not gone away and that’s why we must do everything in our power to make sure every child in our country has an opportunity to grow up healthy and whole. Using children for sexual pleasure can affect a child for the rest of their life.

“When we protect and save children from child sexual abuse, we are showing them that they matter. Their future matters. Because when a child is scarred from sexual assault, it can affect them through their early teen years and throughout their adulthood.

“They may lose the opportunity to be the best they can be because of the trauma associated with this issue. That’s why it’s so important we learn everything we can as adults on how best to protect them.”

The Kayak for Kids takes place on September 30 and October 1. The route is approximately 40 miles starting from Somerset Long Bay Park beach at 8am sharp and finishing at Clearwater beach on the first day of the trip. Equipment can be stored in a shed overnight.

The event committee will assess weather conditions and determine if the circumnavigation will be clockwise or counterclockwise a day before the event, based on wind and weather conditions. Depending on conditions, equipment and fitness level, participants can expect to finish between 3pm and 4pm in Clearwater.

Day two begins from Clearwater Beach at 8am sharp and ends at Somerset Long Bay Park between 3pm and 4pm.

The event will be followed by a barbecue for participants and immediate family. There will be several support boats and jet skis to assist during the journey.

• For more information and to sign up, visit https://www.kayak4kids.bm/island-full