SIFE Lancaster has organised a ‘Jailbreak’ weekend for Week Three of this term – an event which will see students using their people skills to get as far away from Lancaster as they can, armed with nothing but their passports.
The event will begin on Friday 29th January at 6pm, and participants will have until 6am on Sunday 31st January to travel as far as possible.
Jailbreak is an event that has been taken up by a number of universities in the past. Students taking part will have 36 hours to travel, without spending any money. Serious people skills will be needed, the organisers have warned – and those taking part are advised to try and get a return ticket for wherever they are going, in order to avoid finding themselves stranded without a means of getting home.
“Jailbreak is an amazing opportunity to help other people and communities around the world while having loads of fun with friends. Also, as it is voluntary, you can use the experience as a CV booster,” said Charlotte Leggett, co-president of SIFE and one of Jailbreak’s organisers.
The Jailbreak organisers are asking for a £100 deposit in case students do need their help returning, although it has been strongly advised that they do not get on a plane without ensuring the deal includes a return ticket. The winners will be announced after 8am on the Sunday, and there will be prizes available for the longest and shortest distance travelled.
Before they set off participants will be given a t-shirt and official SIFE documentation to help them on their way. Travel insurance will also be provided by SIFE. The teams must comprise one boy and one girl and the organisers are setting up a ‘speed date’ evening, in order that those wanting to take part but unable to find a partner will be able to do so.
Those in charge of SIFE are optimistic about the event, and the idea does seem to have caught on with students – even before Christmas there were over 100 members of the SIFE Jailbreak Facebook group. Students who wish to get involved, whether actually by taking part or by helping out over the weekend, can find information by logging onto the SIFE Lancaster website, or by searching for the event and group ‘SIFE Lancaster Does JAILBREAK’ on Facebook.
SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) Lancaster is an organisation that assists with the development of sustainable businesses in countries such as Tanzania. Set up and run by students, SIFE has organised a number of charity events in the past, and they are hoping that this will prove to be their most popular event to date, thus raising a great deal of money for the charity projects. The exact details of these projects and of other things that SIFE Lancaster has done and is planning, can be found on the website www.sifelancaster.com.
