The Aha Moment

Every two years, including this past Spring Break, 20 Brentwood students travel to Eswatini in southern Africa. To others, the purpose is simple: help build a school. In reality, the experience is so much more, reshaping how students see the world, themselves, and what it actually means to have a good life. Through long days of sweaty labour, unfamiliar routines, and constant connections, students begin to realize they are not just there to give, they are also there to learn. 

Mrs. Cheung explains that the trip is about “Building connections with Brentwood students, local community members, and students in Eswatini, and trying to find the ‘aha’ moments in our Brentwood students to help them really get it and understand it." 

Mrs. Cheung, Mr. Robinson, and Ms. Ramsay are the driving force behind this trip, now running for the fifth time. Each trip brings new students, new challenges, and new moments of growth. While the school being built has a lasting physical impact, the transformation within our students is just as significant, if not more. 

Mr. Robinson explains that his favourite part of returning each year is “watching the younger kids grow, volunteers grow, and parents grow, to see their growth because of the change that we provide with the school.” His words highlight the change in perspectives each individual on the trip has.

For some students, the impact is so strong that one trip isn’t enough. Ryer B, Whittall ‘26, had the opportunity to go twice, and with that came a clearer understanding of how much his mindset had shifted. He reflected on how his “perception of a good life was skewed,” explaining that the trip helped him recognize that motivation and friendships truly matter beyond material things. “They helped motivate me and make me realize what all this was for.”

For others, even a single experience is enough to spark change. Willa S, Hope ‘27, who attended for the first time, shared that “seeing firsthand that not everyone lives how we Brentwood students do was really eye-opening” and described the trip as “such a breath of fresh air.” Her words capture a common feeling among participants, a mix of surprise, gratitude, and perspective.

Days in Eswatini are filled with more than just building. Students hike through unfamiliar landscapes, swim, dance, play games, and fully immerse themselves in the culture all around them. Laughter fills the air, and presence replaces all their distractions, and slowly, without realizing it, priorities begin to shift. 

By the end of the two weeks, something has changed. Students pack their bags, bags that once felt necessary but were actually overfilled. The realization hits quietly, but is so powerful that they don’t need as much as they thought they did to be happy. The aha moment doesn’t come all at once: like the school, it builds brick by brick. 

In the end, students leave Eswatini with more than they came with. Not in what they carry, but in what they understand. Less focus on the quantity, more appreciation for quality. Less assumption, more awareness. Less talking, more gratitude.

Because sometimes the most important thing you build is perspective.

Katie J, Mack ‘26