caravan to class logo caravan to class logo

Caravan To Class News

JANUIARY, 2022

Caravan to Class has just selected its third cohort of Bourse Jackie scholarship recipients. The Bourse Jackie scholarship is a very selected award given to female high school graduates from Timbuktu, Mali, for a 4-year scholarship to the public university in Bamako, the capital of Mali. The scholarship includes payment for tuition, books, room & board, and transportation. In addition, the scholarship provides for a 3-month intensive English study program in nearby Ghana. English language skills are fairly rare in Mali, and an important career differentiator. In addition, this year we have added computers for each of the scholarship recipients. This will allow them to be more efficient in their work and also to participate in Zoom forums, discussions, and study. We thank the So Hum Foundation for its generosity in setting up a dedicated fund to purchase computers for the scholarship recipients.

From a very competitive applicant pool, Caravan to Class selected 31 finalists who recently took an exam administered by Caravan to Class’ partner, the Timbuktu Ministry of Education. The finalists having the top five scores on this exam received a Bourse Jackie scholarship.

Caravan to Class is fundraising for the Takaigrout School, our 16th construction project since 2010

OCTOBER, 2021

Site of the future school in Takaigrout that Caravan to Class will build
Site of the future school in Takaigrout that Caravan to Class will build

The Takaigrout school construction and operational support project:

Caravan to Class will build our 16th school in the village of Takaigrout and provide operational support for three years. Operational support will include paying teachers’ salaries, providing basic nutrition for school lunches, and school supplies. In addition, Caravan to Class will provide school uniforms to all children and also implement our award-winning Female Adult Literacy program. The school will follow Malian standard instruction in French. The Timbuktu Ministry of Education will send a director, at their expense, to run the school and certify teachers for class instruction.

Make a donation now to Caravan to Class to help fund the Takaigrout school construction project.

FEBRUARY, 2021

Caravan to Class has just selected its second cohort of Bourse Jackie scholarship recipients. The Bourse Jackie scholarship is a very selected award given to female high school graduates from Timbuktu, Mali, for a 4-year scholarship to the public university in Bamako, the capital of Mali. The scholarship includes payment for tuition, books, room & board, and transportation. In addition, the scholarship provides for a 3-month intensive English program in nearby Ghana. English language skills are fairly rare in Mali, and an important career differentiator.

Group image of the 2021 Bourse Jackie scholarship recipients

From a very competitive applicant pool, Caravan to Class selected ten finalists who recently took an exam administered by Caravan to Class’ partner, the Timbuktu Ministry of Education. The top five scores on this exam received a Bourse Jackie scholarship. Read on to view the biographies of these recipients written in their own hand, demonstrating how worthy and deserving they are of this life-changing opportunity provided by Caravan to Class donors.

AUGUST 20, 2020

Dear friends,

I hope you are well during these challenging times.

When I first traveled in Mali in 2010, after having been to a good number of other African countries, I quickly fell in love with the country. I am not sure exactly what it was, but perhaps a combination of Mali's history, the allure of the desert in the northeast, the numerous cultures, the music, and most of all the engaging nature of the people that warm your heart everywhere you go.

Since then, Mali has seen its disproportionate share of problems and serious challenges which continue to plague the country. Thankfully, none of these challenges has prevented Caravan to Class from realizing our important work in education in one of Africa’s most historically important places, Timbuktu, Mali.

AUGUST 20, 2020

Recently, I sent a text to our “Bourse Jackie” Scholarship recipients (who receive university scholarships from Caravan to Class), to ask about their thoughts on Black Lives Matter. I was interested in their answers. While their skin is clearly black in color and they have faced difficult obstacles in their lives in one of the world’s poorest countries, they have likely never experienced the overt white vs black racism that many African-Americans have experienced. I thought about telling them they could text me in their native French language. But given the resources spent by Caravan to Class towards their English language education, I thought it would be interesting to ask them to write me in English…which they were happy to do. These are incredibly impressive young women as their words convey.

  1. Caravan to Class is fundraising for the Dourgou School, our 15th construction project since 2010
  2. Caravan To Class Donor Letter, Mali - February 2020
  3. 2019 Year-end Thank You Letter
  4. Pencils for Africa Interviews Barry Hoffner

Featured

Read the interview with CTC founder Barry Hoffner,  catch up with progress on literacy programs and Caravan-to-Class press releases.

Newsletter

Subscribe to our free eNewsletter
and receive progress reports and information about new projects, volunteer opportunities, inspirational stories, and more.

Video of our work

Caravan to Class video

Drone footage of the Kokonji school newly-built by Caravan to Class in Mali