Caravan to Class is building a movement
Through our Bourse Jackie programs, Caravan to Class empowers young women in West Africa with transformative education and skill-building, shaping the next generation of female leaders
With a long history of building and supporting French-based elementary schools in the Timbuktu region of Mali, Caravan to Class has evolved its mission to focus on investing in human capital—supporting a select group of talented young women with both exceptional ability and demonstrated need across Timbuktu and the broader Francophone West African region.
We envision a world where young women from West Africa thrive, achieve their ambitions, and inspire generations of women to come.
Today, our work is centered around the Bourse Jackie (The Jackie Scholarship), a flagship program built on three interconnected initiatives run by three dynamic female program directors:
University Scholarships in Bamako, Mali, supporting young women from Timbuktu in pursuing higher education;
English Language Scholarships in Accra, Ghana, equipping young women, from eight Francophone West African ,countries with critical language and global communication skills;
The West African Women’s Speakers Forum (WAWS) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, designed to elevate female voices, cultivate leadership, and develop public speaking skills among young women from Francophone and Anglophone West Africa
WHAT WE ACHIEVED
Awarded over 80 scholarships to women across West Africa to attend university, learn English, and become leaders in their communities
Achieved concrete results from our graduated in the fields of medicine, law, education, NGO leadership, and government
Spread impact to hundreds of other women learning in English, public speaking through online training, public speaking seminars, webinars on women’s issues and leadership
IN LATEST NEWS
Bourse Jackie scholarship recipients spreading the message of human connection of our founder’s book, Belonging to the World
Belonging To The World
In our 2nd West African Womens Speakers Forum WAWS-Francophone 2026, Mali won again, with Ms. Bah Massata Hassane chosen by our professional panel of judges as West Africa’s best French-speaking orator. Our keynote speakers were the U.S. Ambassdor to Mali and a Mission Officer of Mali’s Youth and Sports.
Mali Wins Again!
As part of our WAWS program, we facilitated a Public-speaking Bootcamp for 35 young women from Mali at the US Embassy, where they learned from professionals how to use their voices to drive change.
Bourse Jackie teaching Public-speaking at the US Embassy in Mali
WAWS
Featured News:
West Africa Women Speakers Forum
Caravan To Class’ Board Member, Ms. Doussouba Konate, shines a spotlight on Mali, Africa at President Barak Obama’s Global Democracy Forum 2022
Bourse Jackie
The Bourse Jackie scholarship is awarded to five deserving young women from Timbuktu annually to attend university and develop leadership skills
Learn how our scholarships and post-training support equip the next generation of West African women leaders