Having completed phase II of a high school in central rural Swaziland/eSwatini, Southern Africa in 2016, Brentwood returned in 2018 for the third block of classrooms. The twenty students on the project together raised about $25,000 for materials, then traveled to put their backs into it. The structure is our largest to date, and destined to be a consumer sciences building. It will be used for home economics, food sciences, sewing and also will house an onsite feeding station for student lunches and special events. These students worked incredibly hard in heat and rain, alongside the local community of women, men and children. We closed out with a celebration and honouring of the work, effort, resources and team building that created the building. The Brentwood kids also had the chance to visit local homesteads and see how these people actually lived, not just a day at school. This exposure to real need, the HIV crisis, the loss of the middle generation, child-led households, grannies with 8+ dependents and no means of support left these young students changed forever.
Hats off to Brentwood for great work!
