The Bourse Jackie Initiative
The Bourse Jackie Programs empower young women across West Africa through university scholarships, English-language immersion, leadership development, and public speaking opportunities, helping create the next generation of female leaders, entrepreneurs, and change-makers.
English Language Scholarships
University Scholarships
West African Women’s Speakers Forum
The Three Programs of the Bourse Jackie Initiative
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) is a program that provides a platform and training in public speaking for women across French and English-speaking West Africa through speaking bootcamps and WAWS, our 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 Initiative (WAWS)
An oratory competition to give voice to women from the region and inspire the dreams of other young women.
The West Africa Women Speakers Initiative (WAWS) is a regional leadership and public-speaking program that empowers young women across 13 West African countries with the confidence, communication skills, and leadership training needed to succeed in education, entrepreneurship, and civic life.
Through public-speaking competitions, leadership bootcamps, mentorship, webinars, and podcasts, WAWS creates opportunities for women to develop their voices and become changemakers in their communities. The program culminates in the West African Women Speakers Forum finale, which crowns the top female orators from both Francophone and Anglophone West Africa, celebrating excellence in leadership, advocacy, and communication.
WAWS particularly supports women from underserved communities who often lack access to leadership training and professional networks, while fostering mentorship, regional collaboration, and gender equality across West Africa.
A Letter from the Founder
It has been my life’s work guiding Caravan to Class toward providing access to elementary school education for thousands of children in a place I have grown deeply attached to: Timbuktu, Mali, West Africa. Even with this strong focus on both place and need, we have long understood that access to higher education — especially for young women — remains one of the greatest challenges facing the region.
After launching the Bourse Jackie Scholarship Program in Timbuktu in 2017 in memory of my late wife, Jackie, we witnessed firsthand the extraordinary impact that access, mentorship, and opportunity could have on the lives of talented young women.
Jackie Hoffner at the Taj Mahal
What began as a university scholarship program for female high school graduates from Timbuktu has now evolved into a broader mission: empowering young women across West Africa with the education, skills, experiences, and networks they need to become the next generation of female leaders and change-makers in the region.
Today, Bourse Jackie is far more than a scholarship. Through a highly competitive and transparent selection process, we identify exceptional young women — many from challenging economic backgrounds — and provide them with transformational opportunities that extend well beyond the classroom. In addition to university support, participants receive leadership development, practical career preparation, confidence-building training, and intensive English-language immersion in Accra, Ghana, giving them tools that can dramatically expand their professional opportunities in an increasingly global world.
We have also expanded our programming to include initiatives like the West Africa Women’s Speakers Forum, which helps young women develop public speaking, storytelling, and leadership skills while building connections across countries and cultures. Increasingly, former Bourse Jackie participants themselves are becoming mentors, program leaders, entrepreneurs, and role models for younger women following in their footsteps.
What inspires me most is the extraordinary character of these young women: their resilience, optimism, perseverance, and determination to improve not only their own lives, but also the future of their communities and countries. When I ask them about their dreams, the answer I hear most often is simple but powerful: they want independence — the ability to shape and control their own futures. Education, confidence, and opportunity make that possible.
I know I may be biased, but after getting to know these remarkable young women personally, I cannot help but believe they are profoundly deserving of support. Their success stories already include graduates launching NGOs, securing international scholarships, building careers in technology and social impact, and inspiring younger generations of girls to dream bigger.
Barry with Bourse Jackie Students
We are building a “movement” of young women in Jackie’s name and our goal is nothing short creating future female leaders across West Africa through education, leadership, and opportunity.
Thank you for considering joining us in supporting this impactful and deeply meaningful work.
Sincerely,
Barry Hoffner
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.