Haja Isatu Bah

Haja is the founder of Uman4Uman – a social enterprise that fights period poverty and promotes menstrual health among girls and women in Sierra Leone. Growing up in Sierra Leone, she witnessed the cycle of disadvantage among the older women in her family who never had the opportunity to attend or complete school. Determined to break this cycle, she resolved to pursue her education differently. With determination, she pushed herself to shine within the public school system, first winning a United World College Scholarship to study in Norway and, later on, internships with Better Health Clinic and The Freetown City Council. Today, her Uman4Uman initiative seeks to tackle the problem that two out of five girls in Sierra Leone miss school when they have their period, and 93% of girls start seeing their period without any prior knowledge of menstruation. To do so, it produces and sells reusable menstrual pads and hosts educational workshops on menstrual hygiene to empower women and girls with health, dignity and awareness of environmental responsibility.  

Since its inception, Uman4Uman has positively impacted 6,000 girls and women in Sierra Leone through its educational workshops and sold over 5,000 units through product distribution. The positive results of this venture have solidified Haja’s belief in the power of education and entrepreneurship to create change. Her goal for the future is to become a leading voice in environmental policymaking, influencing efforts to mitigate climate change and promote sustainability. 

Beyond Uman4Uman, Haja already has a long list of achievements to her name. She is currently a Chevening Scholar (one of only five selected from Sierra Leone) at the London School of Economics. She was the recipient of many awards as a student at Skidmore College, including the President Award, the Racial Justice Award, the Candace Carlucci Award and the Rodney D. Andrews Prize. A Top 50 finalist in the Commonwealth Youth Awards and winner of the Sierra Leone University Startup World Cup, Haja’s work has also been featured on CNN.  

If Haja wins the Global Student Prize, she will use the prize funds to amplify Uman4Uman’s impact. First, she will use 70 per cent of the prize money to create a local Uman4Uman factory – equipped with sewing machines, sterilisers and a packaging station in Sierra Leone. This will help reduce production costs. She will also use 20 per cent of the funds to expand Uman4Uman’s product line with a “starter kit” – a guide to healthy menstrual hygiene for young girls experiencing their first period. The remaining 10 per cent will be used to develop a comprehensive educational program to foster knowledge and behavioural change around menstrual hygiene management in different communities, partnering with other organisations to design training materials and workshops.