Last weekend RAG’s major international hitchhiking challenge, Jailbreak, took place. 16 Students were released from their ‘prison’ at LSE and had 36 hours to make it as far away as possible without spending any money. The students took part in the challenge to raise money for RAG’s international charity of the year – Teach a Man to Fish. Overall the event raised around £2500.
Ultimately, teams made it to Hamburg, Amsterdam, Inverness and Southern France. The challenge was won by the team ‘The Jazzy Gents’ who travelled all the way to the town of Toulon on the coast of the Mediterranean.
Teach A Man To Fish is an educational charity which sets up educational, profitable ‘school businesses’ around the world. It teaches students entrepreneurial skills and generates essential extra income for their schools. Jailbreak honoured the charity by giving each team a fish sticker to take photos with at the locations they visited.
Georgina Stephens, RAG’s Vice President and a third year History student, told The Beaver: “It was amazing to see how far the teams travelled while raising money for such a great cause. Hearing all the teams’ stories of random acts of kindness really does restore your faith in humanity.”
Nathen, a member of ‘the Jazzy Gents’ and first year Politics and History student, describes his experience:
“We spent most of the first day hitchhiking down to Dover and attempting to raise enough money for a ferry ticket. By a stroke of luck on the ferry our bright sequin suits caught the attention of a lovely couple who, after finding out we weren’t magicians, agreed to give us a lift to the rural French town of Marconne.
“Once in Marconne we were stuck: no trains were leaving until late next morning. We sought out a local pizza place for comfort. No one spoke a word of English, so after also convincing them we weren’t magicians we managed to finally order a Pepperoni Pizza, and eventually left with a margherita. We had no option but to sit and wait in the lovely couples’ home. In one of the most surreal experiences of my life we spent the rest of the evening playing Scrabble in a rural French village that even now I couldn’t point to on a map.
“In the morning the couple agreed to take us to Paris, once there, we had our second stroke of luck. After once again convincing the local rioters chanting on the metro, that we weren’t Magicians, we managed to fundraise enough money from locals’ donations to get on a train to Toulon, in the South of France. From that one train journey we went from fourth place to first and with half an hour left we looked over the Mediterranean with the taste of victory and steak in our mouths.
“If I learned anything from this adventure, it’s that charity is not only monetary and that small acts of kindness can change any situation for the better. Whether this be the kindness of the people who came to our aid, or the connection you can make with those who don’t even speak your native tongue.”
Picture Included of the Jazzy Gents (Nathen Allen and Harry Stallard)
