Our Story

I first visited Mali in 2010.

My passion has always been to explore new and out-of-the-way places. As of November 2025, I have traveled to 192 of the 193 UN voting-member countries. In 2010, to celebrate my 50th birthday, I took a bucket-list trip to fulfill a childhood dream: visiting the fabled city of Timbuktu in Mali. I had no idea that the three-day boat journey along the Niger River to reach Timbuktu would spark a project that would become my life’s work, Caravan to Class.

While attending the Festival au Désert, a gathering of extraordinary West African and international musicians, I visited a nearby village. I was deeply moved by the warmth of the village chief and his wife. When I learned that their community had no school, I committed to raising funds to build one in honor of my milestone birthday. Less than nine months later, I returned to see the completed school filled with children learning in their classrooms. That moment changed me. I knew I wanted to continue creating access to education for children in other rural villages in the Timbuktu region.

Since then, Caravan to Class has built and supported eighteen French-based elementary schools and launched a women’s adult literacy program for mothers, bringing education and opportunity to communities that need it most.

In 2018, shortly after the tragic passing of my wife, Jackie, in Africa, we launched a university scholarship program in her honor. Bourse Jackie provides five full university scholarships each year to female high-school graduates from Timbuktu, with the goal of helping them earn transformative degrees and secure meaningful careers. Today, Bourse Jackie has expanded into three programs across West Africa, managed by exceptional program directors in Mali, Ghana, and Burkina Faso, bringing skills, education, and opportunity to young women throughout the region.

Across West Africa, I’ve seen that talent among young women is abundant, opportunity is not. That’s the challenge Caravan to Class is meeting with purpose, passion, and discipline. Impact is our guide.

None of this would be possible without our dedicated team and the generosity of our donors, who not only fund this critical work but deeply believe in the cause we serve. I hope you will consider joining us on this journey.

Sincerely,

Barry Hoffner

Founder & Director

Our first video

We have come a long way since 2010, but our mission and model remains the same.