INTRODUCTION OF FATTOUMATA KASSAMA

“I believe I can empower women and girls to achieve their dreams through the provision of eco-friendly and reusable sanitary pads and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education.”

Fatoumatta Kassama (32 years) is a Gambian freelance nurse and a social entrepreneur. She has 10 years of experience in Nursing and 5 years of experience as a social entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Girls’ Pride, a social enterprise that started in 2017 as a result of period poverty affecting girls’ education in The Gambia. Girls’ Pride is working to address menstrual hygiene problems affecting women and girls, keep girls in school during their periods, end gender-based violence, and reduce the amount of plastic waste that is generated during menstruation.

Fatoumatta’s ISA project is about developing a board game and a comic storybook on menstrual hygiene management. The comic storybook will be transcribed in braille for the visually impaired and blind. Gambian youths and adults will have the opportunity to play the board game in groups, have fun, compete, and learn about menstruation. She aims to use edutainment to break the taboos and normalize conversations around periods at home, in schools, and in our communities.