THE BANJUL OR BUST PROJECT
with The Banjul Challenge: the longest running banger rally on the planet

The Banjul or Bust Project: The Challenge

  • ​26th December 2018 to 15th January 2019 ​
  • 20 teams, 3700 miles from Europe to Gambia in West Africa.
  • Our team, four intrepid friends (Peter, Angela, Karsten and Daniel)... 
  • and two lovingly restored and decorated Mercedes Vito vans.
  • On arrival in Banjul, these two trusty vans will be donated directly to Legs4Africa to use as a mobile unit for amputee patients.
  • All other rally vehicles are auctioned in aid of local Gambian organisations and projects.
  • We're making a film about our adventure... and about human rights issues to raise funds for Amnesty International and Legs4Africa.
Read more about our project on our JustGiving pages.
You can support us by donating to Amnesty International, to Legs4Africa
or by donating to our film project ​'The Banjul or Bust Project'.

The Banjul or Bust Project: The Movie

​ 
This travelogue will document our journey from the UK to the Gambia with the Banjul Challenge 2018 and explore the human rights issues affecting the countries through which we travel. 
The Banjul challenge is the longest banger rally in the world. Teams leave the UK every December and head south through Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal, arriving in Banjul in The Gambia. The journey is approximately 3700 mile and crosses the Sahara desert. On arrival all the rally vehicles are auctioned in aid of the Gambian National Olympic Committee (GNOC) and the association of Small scale Enterprises in Tourism (ASSET) who each receive 20% of the funds raised and the balance is distributed among local small businesses, NGOs, schools, etc. 
We have already made a video-van installation which was displayed at Hauser and Wirth Somerset 26th October 2018 alongside Ai Weiwei's documentary film "Human Flow" - we raised £500 for Amnesty International and The Banjul or Bust Project from this one event.
Having completed the Banjul Challenge, we hope to continue developing The Banjul or Bust Project by showing the resulting documentary film in galleries, film festivals and street corners to continue raising awareness about the current human right issues affecting cultural minorities and displaced communities in the countries that we travelled through, and to continue raising funds for Amnesty International and Legs4Africa.

The Story So Far......

  • September 2021:
The Banjul or Bust Project: The Movie
We have spent the last 2 years editing hundreds of hours of film footage to create our short film, 'You Can't Get There From Here'. It is now in the final stages of post production... Watch this space for a release date!
  • March 2019:
March 2019, A postcard from the Gambia: 
Having successfully completed the Banjul Challenge in January 2019, Daniel and the team delivered their cargo of prosthetic limbs for Legs4Africa and also donated both of their trusty vans to the amputee clinic in Banjul.
We've just had an update on the vehicles and heard that Daniel's van is now being used for the mobile amputee clinic and for patient transport. The clinic sold Peter's van at auction raising £700 and the money has been allocated directly to the amputee support group for referral pathways and training. 
  • ​January 2019:
Apart from some mechanical ​mishaps and cold nights in Morocco, all is well with the Banjul or Bust Project! The team made their way to Fes, across the Atlas Mountains to Marrakesh, down to Tan Tan, crossed the border into Western Sahara and onward passed the Tropic of Cancer. The long desert road took it's toll and the van finally broke down in Mauritania. But help was at hand and Daniel was towed for 200km to Nouakchott. Daniel and the team were last heard of awaiting a local mechanic in the Mauritanian city....    

NEWS FLASH: From Mauritania onward through Senegal, The Banjul or Bust Project team has now successfully arrived in Banjul in the Gambia! Mission accomplished....

So far, the Banjul or Bust Project has raised over £3000 for charity.
  • ​December 2018:
Daniel set out to join the Banjul Challenge on Christmas night - some of you spotted the BBC news interview at Portsmouth Harbour on Boxing Day. The Banjul Challenge teams gathered in Tarifa in southern Spain and Daniel's team set sail for Africa on 30th December.
  • ​November 2018:
We are very happy to announce our support for  Legs4Africa.
We are transporting a cargo of prosthetic legs in aid of the Bristol based organisation Legs4Africa. 
We are also very pleased  to announce that the Legs4Africa team in Banjul has been nominated as the recipients of our beloved vans. One of the vehicles will be used as a mobile unit to make regular home visits and to serve as transport to amputees to get to and from the hospital in Banjul.
The other van will be auctioned and the proceeds of the sale will go towards helping set up another prosthetics fitting centre in the town of Bangsang.  
  • ​October 2018:
Thank you to all friends who came to see our Video Van installation at Hauser & Wirth Somerset
on Friday 26th October 2018 alongside the screening of Ai Weiwei's film 'HUMAN FLOW'.
It was a great success! we raised a further £500 for Amnesty International and The Banjul or Bust Project.  
Read more about our project on our JustGiving pages.
Follow us on instagram.com/danielpetkoff
See our adventures on our YouTube channel:
"So off you go, have fun, be nice and stay cool. This ain't no package tour!!! It won't be easy. If you are a bit worried/scared/excited about what's ahead - GOOD! it's time to get serious. Be ready to think for yourself (and others) when things get difficult..."​ Opening paragraph of the Plymouth-Dakar road book.
Huge Thanks to everyone who has helped us along the road:
Andrew and Tanja at Parsonage Down Farm, Simon at Heytesbury Garage, Penny Nagle at Where West Begins, Lucy MacDonald at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Olivia Clifton-Bligh, Charlotte Bevan and James Williams, Paul and Yvette at Langfords in Shaftesbury  
Daniel Petkoff    01985 212 716    info@yogapod.co.uk