Masturah Nantume

I have a passion for studying and learning, firmly believing that it is the sole pathway to my aspirations. As a forever dream of mine, I aspire to become a change maker, particularly as a human rights lawyer. My goal is to help individuals gain pride and respect while serving humanity to ensure equity and uphold people's rights. I am open to collaborating in various areas that seek to create a better world, beyond human rights. I believe that our collective efforts can make a significant difference in shaping a brighter future for generations to come. I have been an ambassador for organizations like Girl Up (aiming to build a vibrant movement of girls and young women), Youth Hundred (supports young changemakers to create and build upon social impact projects addressing the Sustainable Development Goals), Global youth ambassador at TheirWorld,(focusing on Sustainable development goal 4, Equitable Education For all), The Pad Project (aiming to create and cultivate local and global partnerships to end period stigma and to empower women worldwide), and Girl Rising (aiming to empower New Generations to Advance Girls' Education), in this organization, I have been recognized and posted for my commitment to preventing period poverty and nurturing girls in my community and i have been appreciated for being inspiring. Here are some of my accomplishments: During my school service trip to the Jacaranda school for Ophans in March 2024: I was hosted on national television in Malawi for a live morning show where I discussed my experiences, school, and offered advice to Malawian students. 2022: Selected as a finalist for the MYP Student Innovator Grant worldwide. 2022: Presented at The Future of Education Now & Next at WAB (Western Academy of Beijing), receiving a certificate for inspiring teachers globally. 2022 & 2023: Delivered speeches on International Women's Day, providing reusable sanitary pads to underprivileged young women and presented at Jacaranda School in Malawi about the 2024 theme of Inspire Inclusion. 2022: Featured in Wellbeing in International Schools Magazine for my MYP personal project on "Period Poverty, Teen Pregnancy, and Early Marriage." July 2022: Participated in Inspire Citizen Eco Photography (Educator Edition), learning about the principles of harmony in nature. 2022: Created a project on preventing data theft and produced a podcast to raise awareness about data privacy solutions. March 2023: Guest speaker at the Change-Maker Conference at Frankfurt International School in Germany. Ongoing: Launched a petition to support young women experiencing period poverty, advocating for their education and empowerment. Support the petition. 2020: Represented Xi'an Liangjiatan International School at Earth Echo International and Documentary Africa events. January 2023: Invited by Youth YxY as an education activist to discuss the future of education in Uganda.

I am passionate about human rights, gender equality and all areas that make the world a better place for all. I aspire to be a human rights lawyer that sees beyond gender, age, skin, color and I want to lead a new tomorrow and be the change.

Coming from a village where the power of period poverty is a shared reality, I discovered the great power of compassion, change and collaboration through the initial support I received from Xian Liangjiatan International School where I got my first chance to talk about this issue through my MYP personal project and this became a beacon of hope for the girls in my village. By addressing period poverty, I've learned the deep impact of pursuing a passion. Starting as a response to a struggle, my education at Xian Liangjiatan International School became a changing point, a platform to raise my voice. Featured in podcasts, workshops, and conferences, just to mention a few where I have been able to extend this awareness. With the power of my passion on this issue combined with support, I founded Youngsters Appeal Foundation, dedicated to empowering underprivileged girls and through this Foundation, 829 underprivileged girls have been supported so far and more are to be supported. As I continue my education at Ridley College, my goal, passion, and view of change remains the same. My goal is to lead in a way, so women and girls will believe in themselves the way that I do. I will model a positive and confident image of a female leader. When I stand up in front of people, I feel a tremendous amount of pride in myself and in the girls around me. Passion: it begins with us, resonates within us, and proceeds from the world around us.

Growing up as a poor girl in a village, I have faced significant challenges, mostly period poverty. This issue has been faced by many girls in my village leading to problems such as early marriages, teen pregnancies, and many girls dropping out of school. Beyond these severe consequences, period poverty also forces girls to use makeshift solutions like using rags, leaves and also caring sense of shame. I have experienced this firsthand. Despite these hardships, I was fortunate to receive a scholarship to Xian Liangjiatan International school after I was not able to go to school due to period poverty and financial needs. This scholarship opportunity included participation in the Middle Years Programme Personal Project in my grade 10. This was a big chance for me to share my voice especially because I was not always not given this chance to help because people would tell me that I cannot say anything since I am poor. Having received this opportunity helped me to address period poverty and created room for my voice to be heard. I shared awareness through podcasts, workshops and webinars. Because this was in the time when many countries were in the lockdown, I saw the pandemic exacerbate these issues, with schools closed and young people, especially girls, left without direction and therefore I focus my project on empowering girls in my community. After extensive research, I decided to sew reusable period pads and masks and my school provided all the initial money that supported this start. This initiative aimed to be environmentally friendly and help girls regain their freedom and pursue education with no shame of period poverty. I was able to support 100 girls in my first produced products. This included having girls learn how to make their own menstrual pads, and counselling which helped some girls to go back to school and others were motivated. However, I faced significant challenges in my village and my working place, I was working under a tree so when I introduced the project, there was mistrust and skepticism. People doubted my ability to lead and support the girls because I was poor as they mentioned. Some elders and peers undermined me but I kept going and my family, mentor and supervisor helped me to keep strong. I remained strong and confident in my mission, progressively gaining the trust of girls and women in my community. As time went on, elders eventually helped teach skills, and their involvement was crucial and helpful. Through determination and resilience, we successfully made masks and pads, fostering a supportive community of girls and women. With this success, more girls were supported making a number of 370 which were supported after i won the Dr Siva Kumari award that also helped me to rent a working place for my project. In 2022 I was given a certificate from Future of Education Now and Next and I was appreciated for inspiring the teachers around the world, I got involved in sharing awareness such as the Empathy to Impact podcast which led to my connection with the Frankfurt International school that invited me in 2023 as a keynote speaker to the changemakers conference in Germany to speak about my work. With support, I turned my project into a foundation called Youngsters Appeal. I am continuing to create change through collaborations with people around the world. My recent collaboration being with SAATHI and DHL has helped me support 459 more girls, making a number of 829 overall supported girls under my foundation. This is just the beginning; I am envisioning to support more underprivileged girls. This journey has shown me the power of unity and the importance of uplifting one another. I am committed to bringing about change in communities and the world. My life's work will be dedicated to building supportive networks and showing that we can stand united.

Speaking and collaborating with people.