Humanitarian Trips — Marcellines sans frontières

Opening Themselves Up to the World to Better Change It

For many years, Collège Sainte-Marcelline has offered its students much more than an education. It is an invitation to engage with the world. Through the Marcellines sans frontières program, young women travel beyond borders to learn, contribute and grow.

Photo 1 – Entete humanitaire

Marcellines sans frontières

The Marcellines sans frontières (MSF) program aims to introduce students to international cooperative work, help them discover new cultures and enable them to make a tangible contribution to the development of underprivileged communities..

The program takes place in the second cycle of high school, from Grade 9 to Grade 11. During this time, participants learn about global realities, commit to raising awareness within the school community about various social issues, take part in events that promote these same values, perform volunteer work, and organize fundraising activities for their humanitarian trip.

Benin

Benin was the first destination for Marcellines sans frontières, with three missions carried out in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Each time, students travelled to Glo Yekon to run a summer camp aimed at helping children improve their French — a language which is essential for accessing higher education and building a better future in that country.

They set out to teach, lead activities and contribute, they returned transformed — bringing back far more than they had planned to offer. The warmth of the children at the Marcelline school, their contagious energy, their sincere joy despite their material poverty: so many encounters that challenged assumptions and broadened horizons.

Costa Rica

In April 2025, Grade 9 and 10 students participated in a community service and adventure stay in Costa Rica. This trip marked the renaissance of the MSF program in a new form: from now on, every year, students can travel to Latin America to discover a country and make tangible contributions to improving the quality of life in a community. Furthermore, since they know Spanish, this is a definite advantage for building connections and fully immersing themselves in the experience.

Peru

In 2026, in Peru, students had a meaningful experience collaborating with residents of Rio Seco, a small rural community in the Supe district. Together, they contributed to the construction of a community park for children — a safe space to play offered to a community made up primarily of farmers. This project, both lasting for the community and fulfilling for the students, truly illustrates the values of mutual support and civic engagement that drive the school.

Guatemala

The next Marcellines sans frontières trip will take place in Guatemala at Easter 2027. Students will stay in Antigua, a city inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. They will be hosted by local families. On the agenda: community involvement through construction and children’s animation projects, private Spanish lessons and discovery of Guatemala’s cultural richness: volcanoes, indigenous markets, Mayan traditions and more. A pre-departure training session will prepare participants for this intense intercultural immersion.

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