An Australian police officer working in Samoa is finalising preparations for a 400 kilometre solo kayak around the country to raise money for suicide prevention and awareness.
Andy Warton, whose two-year stint in Apia ends in July, had long wanted to take action towards suicide prevention before settling on the idea of an 11-day circumnavigation of the islands by kayak.
The police superintendent says learning of Samoa's high suicide rates was the final catalyst for his project, Kayak4Youth.
Mr Warton says when two close male friends killed themselves in recent years, he found himself asking why.
"Not just why but what could be done. What could an individual with nothing to do with the health system or the mental health system - not a counsellor, not a psychologist or a psychaiatrist, just a copper, really - what could an indvidual like that do to help reduce that rate of suicide."
Andy Warton's trip around Samoa begins on April the 20th.