Katherine residents Shannan and Aneeka Nichols and their children, 2-year-old Zethan and 14-month-old Eleora stayed at the residential facility in the grounds of the Westmead hospital complex in April as Eleora had major life-saving cardiac surgery.

``To have seen and experienced what Ronald McDonald House does was the most encouraging thing for us and also to see what it does for other families with sick kids,'' Mr Nichols said.

``[It] goes beyond just having a roof over your head or it being convenient to the hospital. You are surrounded by families in other situations and you have the freedom to interact, chat, talk with others, some

of them in a worse situation than your own.''

Before Eleora's condition was diagnosed, she spent much of her short life in hospitals in Newcastle, then in Darwin, after Mr Nichols, an aircraft technician, was stationed there early this year.

She was diagnosed with a double aortic arch in which the aorta was wrapped around her windpipe and gullet, causing breathing and swallowing problems.

The couple's walk, K's 4 Kids, aims to raise $10,000 for the charity to put towards setting up a similar facility in Darwin, which lacks a place for parents to stay while their children are in hospital.

The couple and their supporters will do the walk starting from Tindal, near Katherine, on June 20. They plan to spend the next seven days walking to Darwin.

They have support from Mr Nichols's RAAF colleagues and staff at Katherine High School, where Mrs Nichols is a physical education teacher.

Details: everydayhero.com.au/ks4kids or

neekandshan@gmail.com.