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When Bermudian Ben Greening returned home from school in the UK last year, he spent the summer vacation working as a student reporter at The Royal Gazette .

This year, he travelled much further afield, to work on the Thailand Water Project.

Organised by his UK school, Gordonstoun, as its annual charity project, the trip involved a long journey within Thailand itself. "All of the water projects take place in remote `Karen' villages, inhabited by hill-tribes very near the border with Burma,'' explained Ben, who was 18 last month. "These villagers have no contact with the outside world, and even speak a different language from the Thais. There is no electricity, they live in thatched huts, and sustain themselves through their chickens, pigs and buffaloes, and the cultivation of their rice paddy-fields.'' The purpose of the trip, in which six boys and ten girls took part, was to provide yet another village with urgently needed fresh water. "Contamination has been a big problem for these people. So we went up into the mountains to find fresh spring water. Once we had managed to do that, we spent the next 13 days digging a big trench from the village to the mountain. Pipes, which we had paid for and picked up in Bangkok were laid in the trench -- and then we had to re-cover the trench.'' Finally, the group, under their Thai project leader, and assisted by the villagers, built two large concrete tanks at the end of the trench, close by the village, to hold the precious water. The big moment finally came when the spring-fresh water came gushing through.

Having spent the first three days in a nearby town to acclimatise themselves to the climate and buying basic necessities for the trip at a nearby market, the group made its way to the village where they lived in the villagers' huts.

"We slept on the floor, under mosquito nets, and in our hut, there was a baby who cried all night. The village children were very friendly -- we took them all little presents, balloons, colouring books and so on. None of us could converse, but we got along very well, using mime!'' Although the group brought some foodstuff with them, all of their meals (including breakfast) included the villagers' rice. "We had to get used to the idea that they all went to bed as soon as it got dark -- there was no electricity. We would sit around for an hour or so, talking, as that was about the only free time we had. But we were so tired, we were quite glad to get to sleep, especially as the cockerells woke us up every day at about 4 a.m.'' In spite of the intense heat, they rarely saw the sun: "It was very humid and it rained a lot. Yes, there were snakes around! Some people saw them, but I didn't. We mainly had to cope with mosquitoes, leeches and huge spiders.'' Describing his trip as "quite an adventure'', Ben said that one of the most difficult aspects was reaching and then returning from the village. "We had driven about 12 km along a very muddy track and then we had another four km when we had to trek through the jungle, carrying our rucksacks. We were quite worried on our way back, as there had been days of torrential rain adn we kept getting stuck in the mud.'' Although they personally saw no sign of border incidents or refugees fleeing the troubled state of Burma, the school party was told to travel in groups.

"This was because there were Burmese soldiers crossing the border and coming into the villages to steal whatever they could. But we had no problems. In fact, when we finished the project and then flew on to Phuket, a beautiful coastal resort, we were struck by the fact that stealing was unknown. We could leave our things unattended. These people, especially since the financial collapse of the country, have so little, have gone through a lot of hardship, and are totally honest.'' Bringing water to villagers was about the only free time we had. But we were so tired, we were quite glad to get to sleep, especially as the cockerells woke us up every day at about 4 a.m.'' In spite of the intense heat, they rarely saw the sun. "It was very humid and it rained a lot. Yes, there were snakes around! Some people saw them, but I didn't. We mainly had to cope with mosquitoes, leeches and huge spiders.'' Describing his trip as "quite an adventure'', Ben said that one of the most difficult aspects was reaching and then returning from the village.

"We had driven about 12 km along a very muddy track and then we had another four km when we had to trek through the jungle, carrying our rucksacks. We were quite worried on our way back, as there had been days of torrential rain and we kept getting stuck in the mud.'' Although they personally saw no sign of border incidents or refugees fleeing the troubled state of Burma, the school party was told to travel in groups. "This was because there were Burmese soldiers crossing the border and coming into the villages to steal whatever they could. But we had no problems. In fact, when we finished the project and then flew on to Phuket, a beautiful coastal resort, we were struck by the fact that stealing was unknown. We could leave our things unattended.

These people, especially since the financial collapse of the country, have so little, have gone through a lot of hardship, and are totally honest.'' MISSION ACCOMPLISHED -- Project leaders of the Thailand Water Project watch as fresh water pours from the newly completed system. (Photo: Ben Greening) WAITING FOR THE WATER -- While working on the Thailand Water Project, Bermudian student Ben Greening made friends with `Dee', pictured here in the jungle just outside his remote village home.