Ko te āwhina i ngā mahi haumanu i ngā tamariki mate manawa te aronga nui a Ethan Hayes, he tekau tau tōna pakeke. Ko te eke paihikara te mahi a te kaitoko i te ora nō Ngāti Porou nei, i te Whakamātautau Eke Paihikara o Taupō, hei kohi pūtea mā Tamariki Mate Manawa o Aotearoa.
Ahakoa ko ia te mea iti ake i ngā kaieke paihikara, ka nui tōna whatumanawa.
Tekau mā rua te nui o ngā pēpi ka whakawhānau mai ia wiki me tētahi mate ngākau. Kotahi mano tāra te rahi hei kohikohi māna hei whakaora i te manawā o ngā tamariki.
“I felt bad that they couldn't do as much things as normal kids could,” i kī atu i ia.
E whā tau ki muri i rau tuatahi atu ai te tama rā ki roto i te Wero eke paihikara o Taupō i te akiaki a tōna matua.
“I was doing the round the lake ride and saw the opportunity there for him to do the 5km kids ride and ride to the finish line with him as a parent,” tā tōna matua, a David Hayes.
“As it turned out on the day it was magic, really good experience to be able to cross the line with my son.
Ko tā te tumuwhakarae o Te Rōpū Ngākau Tamariki o Aotearoa, tā Rob Lutter, “Cycling is really good for our Heart Kids. It's a low impact sport and it's really good for them to exercise.”
Hei tā Lutter anō, “When we do our 5km ride, we have a lot of kids doing that and 5km's for them is perfect.”
Wheoi, i tēnei tau tonu i rongo ai hoki ia i te mate manawa.
“I thought that I was a normal kid,” i whākī atu a Ethan.
“But when I found that out I was a bit sad. It makes me feel happy that I can help. It should get better hopefully.”
“He's a great young man. It's great that he's out there cycling,” ka mea atu a Lutter.
“With the hole in his heart, he's doing a great job just getting out there and cycling.”
Ko te pae tawhiti māna kia eke paihikara ki te whakataetae i Wīwī, ā ko te āhua nei ka whakatutukia te moemoeā e ia ā tōna wā.