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Three hundred students are set to descend on Dover as they make their way to Belgrade in Serbia.

The students from the University of Sheffield will be setting off on an epic charity challenge this weekend that will see them hitch-hike from Sheffield to Serbia on a shoestring budget. 

The unique ‘Bummit to the Belgrade’ has been organised by the University’s Rag society and the mission is to get from Sheffield to Belgrade within eight days. With only £15 to spend, the 300 students will have to blag their way onto public transport, trains and flights, as well as hitch-hiking to see them to their final destination.

Half of the students taking part will leave the University’s Union of Students on Saturday 24 March 2007 to begin their 1,800 mile journey to Belgrade. They will then be followed by a further 150 students on Tuesday 27 March 2007, who will also aim to get to the Serbian capital. 

This is the fifth ‘Bummit’ challenge, with previous challenges seeing students safely and successfully hitchhiking to Bognor, Budapest, Bucharest and Riga. Everyone taking part will be organised into teams of two or three people, with at least one male in each team. All participants will receive a full safety briefing, will be given guidelines before they leave and are required to check-in with the Union each day by phone. 

For the first time this year, ‘Bummit’ will also be providing an online tracking system through which friends, family and the interested public can follow all the teams’ progress. The information is gathered by a team in Sheffield and the locations plotted onto the map. 

The challenge aims to raise over £45,000 for this year’s charities, Sue Ryder Care and the No More Landmines Trust. Sue Ryder Care provides palliative and neurological care to patients with disabilities and life threatening illnesses, both in the UK and abroad and the No More Landmines Trust is the UK partner in the global Adopt-a-Minefield campaign. It aims to relieve poverty, distress and suffering in various countries, particularly those recovering from conflict. ‘Bummit’ will also donate 15% of the money raised to Rainforest Concern. 

Anna Grant, a third student at the University of Sheffield and member of the ‘Bummit’ Committee, said: “I did Bummit last year and I met so many different people and saw so many places off the beaten track. At the end of the trip it is brilliant when you realised what you have achieved. We made a phenomenal amount of money last year”.

She added: “This year we look set to make even more money than last year whilst still having fun!”
For those interested in donating to this year’s Bummit, an online donation system is available at www.bummit.co.uk