The Middle-to-End walk today will have a truly international participation as 40 students from around the world join the Bermuda High School for Girls in the Youth Invasion walk.

Every year hundreds of students from schools take part in the Bermuda Middle-to-End as part of the Bank of Bermuda Foundations’ Youth Invasion, raising money for local charities.

This year students from the United States, Canada and Peru who are on the Island to participate in a Round Square Conference hosted by BHS will also walk the 14.7 miles.

The conference is being hosted by the Bermuda High School, which is a member of Round Square, a world-wide association of more than 70 schools on five continents sharing unique and ambitious goals.

And the philosophy of the association is for the youth to offer service, which is why conference organiser, Tina Nash, invited the students to fly to Bermuda two days early to walk 14.7 miles in the name of charity.

Ms Nash said: “Every year there is an international conference where we can meet have have training. What connects all of the Round Square schools are these conferences.

“The Middle-to-End is one way for them to give back and some from away have contributed online. One student has raised $435.’

Joining the students from the schools will be 19 teachers, who will also be walking.

Lowri Casimiro, who is organising the BHS team, said: “From BHS we’ve got 20 students and six teachers. Some students are rowing it and some are swimming it.

“Right now we have raised $1,600, but hopefully that will go up because our target is $5,000.”

The organisation has been no small feat as the extra days to participate in the Middle-to-End meant Ms. Nash had to find host families for all of the students.

Tomorrow when the conference ‘Sustainable Development: Protecting Paradise, Ours and Yours’ begins the students will stay on Paget Island in St. George’s.

The conference kicks off with a keynote address by the Director of Sustainable Development, Erica Smith on Sunday evening.