Caravan to Class has three separate programs under our Bourse Jackie female scholarship initiatives:
The Bourse Jackie University Scholarships provided to five young women annually from the four Timbuktu high schools
Bourse Jackie English Language Scholarships provided annually to ten young women from French-speaking African countries
The West African Women’s Speakers Forum (WAWS) an oratory competition to give voice to women from the region and inspire the dreams of other young women.
Bourse Jackie University Scholarships (for female high-school graduates from Timbuktu)
A competitive university scholarship given to five female high school students annually from Timbuktu
Bourse Jackie (Jackie Scholarship) awards are given based on students’ application and performance on a Timbuktu Ministry of Education exam administered for Caravan to Class. The top five scores receive the scholarship that includes:
Three year scholarship to private university
All books and supplies
Monthly transportation stipend
Three month intensive English language program in Ghana
Caravan to Class Women’s Leadership program
Monthly Female Leadership and Empowerment program
Bourse Jackie English Language Scholarships (for women from French-speaking Africa)
Together with our partner the BT Institute in Ghana, we provide ten scholarships annually for young women from French-speaking African countries to study English intensively.
Through a competitive selection process administered by our partner, the BT Institute, Caravan To Class awards ten full scholarships for young women from French-speaking African countries to study English intensively in Accra, Ghana. Applicants are chosen based on a combination of need and academic excellence. The scholarship includes the following:
Tuition, Books and Fees for 6 months of English Study
Room & Board
Transportation to and from Accra, Ghana
Monthly Female Leadership & Empowerment program
We have just selected our first Cohort of scholarship recipients. They will receive 6-months of English language training, room & board and transportation costs all paid under our Bourse Jackie program.
The response for our first call for applicants was strong: 134 applications from 10 French -speaking African countries. Through a rigorous selection process, we chose our five inaugural scholarship recipients from four different African countries: Burkina Faso, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Niger. To continue reading, click here.
The West African Womens Speakers Forum (WAWS)
An oratory competition to give voice to women from the region and inspire the dreams of other young women.
The West African Women’s Speakers Forum (WAWS) will be run by a former Bourse Jackie scholarship recipient from Burkina Faso, Ms. Aida Zeba.
It starts with a call for applicants which entails submission of a video by young women from five different West African countries. A panel of judges will select the best five videos with the finals to be held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in February 2025.
The winner of the competition will earn six months of intensive English study at the BT Institute in Accra, Ghana.
A Letter from the Founder
It has been my life’s work guiding Caravan to Class towards providing access to elementary school education for thousands of children in a place I have grown very attached to, Timbuktu, Mali, West Africa. Even with this high level of focus on both place and need, we know that access to other levels of education, like university, is still challenging for so many, particularly, women. After the tragic and difficult loss, in Africa in late 2017, of my dear wife, Jackie, Caravan to Class moved quickly to launch a university scholarship program for female high school graduates from Timbuktu. This program, in her name, Bourse Jackie, has become synonymous in Timbuktu for its life-changing opportunity for young women from this special place.
Jackie Hoffner at the Taj Mahal
Through a very competitive and transparent selection process, a full scholarship is awarded to private university in Mali for five outstanding high school graduates from Timbuktu. These women often come from very challenging economic situations and must move more than 1,000 kilometers away from their families, from a small town of 60,000 people to a large urban city of millions, to pursue their quest for the independence and career opportunity that comes with a university education for women. In addition, we put them through our Young Womens’ Leadership program which teaches them practical career skills and helps build confidence. Finally, we send them to Ghana for a 3-month intensive English program, a career-differentiator. In short, we feel like we select the most capable women and provide them with the tools they need to succeed in life.
I admire them: their enthusiasm, perseverance, their optimism about their future, their desire to make a change in their country. The most common comment, by far, when I asked about their dreams was that they wanted to achieve independence so that they can control their futures, something rare for a woman in Africa….and a university degree will allow that for them. I know I am biased, but, knowing them, I cannot help but feel that they are so deserving of support in their quest for a life-changing university education.
Thank you for considering joining us by supporting this impactful program.
Sincerely,
Barry Hoffner
Barry with Bourse Jackie Students
Meet our Scholars
You can help.
We would love to be able to offer the Bourse Jackie scholarship to more deserving young women in Mali.