PEELING off blood-sucking leeches and taking cover from the three-horned rhinoceros beetles the size of the palm of a hand were among the challenges facing a group of Ryedale students during a summer expedition.
Malton School, in partnership with Ryedale School, took 31 students aged 16 to 18 to the world’s third largest island, Borneo, to help make a contribution to the people and environment of the developing country through meaningful project work.
Life-changing projects the students helped with included building a village kindergarten, a flushing toilet and a market place, so the villagers had somewhere to sell their local produce.
In this same village, near Tinangol, the students and teachers also helped construct an effective water filtration system replacing the old dirty concrete water tank left by the Japanese, decades earlier.
The students also got involved in environmental projects including clearing dense vegetation for a butterfly farm. This will form part of an education centre for the rainforest areas of Borneo.
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