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  • Place

    Caravan to Class is inspired by the idea of the Camel Caravans that used to traverse the Sahara Desert near Timbuktu, Mali.

  • People

    Caravan to Class works closely with local villagers, ensuring their commitment to prioritize the education of their deserving children.

  • Educators

    Caravan to Class is grateful to the teachers and their commitment to bring literacy to the children of far away villages in Africa.


  • Inspiration

    Caravan to Class gets its inspiration to advocate for literacy in the Southern Sahara from the children of the villages where we operate.

  • The Place

  • The People

  • The Educators

  • Our Inspiration

Imagine a world...  where no matter where a child
lives, the fundamental right of education is assured.

Caravan to Class brings education to the children of Mali, and in the future other countries in Africa, village by village, reversing the injustice of illiteracy. Find out about:

With your support in helping to educate a child in one of the villages where Caravan to Class operates, we not only bring the gift of literacy directly to a child in a village in Africa, but also break the cycle of illiteracy in the child’s family and bring hope for the future to the village.

JANUARY 10, 2020

Dear friends,

As Caravan to Class starts our 2nd decade of investing in literacy through our work in education in one of the world’s most interesting yet underserved places, (Timbuktu, Mali), I reiterate my gratitude to you for joining me on this important journey! With your support, over the years, we have been able to provide the opportunity for thousands of children to attend French-based schools through our main “school construction and support program.” More recently we have added a Female Adult Literacy program for mothers in the villages where we work, to teach basic literacy in the local language. Last year, we launched our “Bourse Jackie” program that very selectively provides scholarships to female high school graduates, from Timbuktu, to attend university in Mali's capital of Bamako. I personally met with these incredibly bright young women in Mali in February 2019. I was so impressed with the enthusiasm and dedication of three of these women towards learning English, that Caravan to Class funded an intensive English language course for them this summer in Accra, Ghana. Caravan to Class is currently working on our 14th school construction project, in the village of Bokoi-Koiria near Timbuktu.

Image of the interview webpage on Pencils for Africa In this May 5, 2019, INTERVIEW with Pencils for Africa, Executive Director and Founder Barry Hoffner tells of his lifelong wish to visit Timbuktu, and subsequently, how Caravan To Class came about and the motivation behind the organization's work.
 

MARCH 23, 2019

Image of the village people of Bokoi-Koiria enthusiastically greeting the Caravan To Class team
Image of the village people of Bokoi-Koiria enthusiastically greeting the Caravan To Class team

The Bokoi-Koiria school construction and operational support project:

Caravan to Class will build our 14th school in the village of Bokoi-Koiria 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 Bokoi-Koiria school construction project.

Mamma Haidara Library of Manuscripts

View this report about our visit with Dr. Abdel Kader Haidara, whose brave efforts have helped save thousands of Mali's ancient manuscripts from destruction. Dr. Haidara's team and their work is the subject of the book The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer (Simon & Schuster. April 2016, ISBN 9781476777405).

Our Latest Impact Report


View our latest Impact Report to learn how your support has helped Caravan to Class bring literacy to children and adult women of Mali.

Our Latest Impact Report


View our latest Impact Report to learn how your support has helped Caravan to Class bring literacy to children and adult women of Mali.

Support a Student

Image of student - learn how to support a child's education for one year

Our Schools in Action

Image of teacher - learn how to sponsor a teacher

Watch this video of girls reciting the alphabet in our school in Tombouz, Timbuktu, Mali.

Support Operations

Image of teacher - learn how to support teachers and classroom operations

A student in a Caravan to Class school writes...

"Caravan to Class helps assure a good education for all students, which guaranties a better future. I love to read… to read a book or a letter to my parents, who can't read… or simply to read information from some place far away."
~ Fadimata Walet, 6th grade, Tedeini school

Featured

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

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Video of our work

Caravan to Class video

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