Middle- and high-school French Honor Society students of BASIS Independent McLean recently returned from a two-week service trip to the African nation of Madagascar.
After spending the year fund-raising, the students delivered a $10,000 scholarship to pupils at St. François Xavier School (SFX) School of Fianarantsoa in Madagascar.
The newly rebuilt pre-kindergarten-to-12th-grade school serves 2,000 students.
Located off the southeast coast of Africa, the Republic of Madagascar was annexed by France in 1897 and won independence in 1960. French is one of the nation’s two official languages, along with Malagasy.
On the trip, the students had the chance to practice their French-language skills with native speakers and learned about the culture and environment in the country.
Each year, the French Honor Society at BASIS Independent McLean partners with a school in need to support global education. Last year, the society raised $12,000 to build a new schoolhouse in Khombole, Senegal, and donated an additional $1,000 to go toward school supplies.