From one girl's struggle came a mission for many.

SheCures was founded by Mariatu Gbassay Kanu, a Community Health and Clinical Officer, period advocate, maternal health enthusiast, and a woman whose own journey began in a home where girls were not expected to go to school.

Mariatu was born into an extended family with five step grandmothers and a father with four wives. In that family setting, education was not considered necessary for girls. Girls were expected to learn Arabic, do domestic work, and prepare for womanhood as defined by tradition. At the age of nine, Mariatu cried to join other children in school when her grandfather was not around. If he found out, she risked punishment. That fear kept many girls in the family away from school until after his death, when a few of them found the courage to return.

Mariatu pushed herself with determination. In secondary school, she earned the name Brain of the School. For a time, one of her grandmothers and an aunt supported her financially, but by her second year, that help could no longer continue. She was almost forced to drop out. Instead, she found a tailoring shop, learned to sew dresses, and sold them to her colleagues on campus. The money paid for her fees, hostel, books, and food. Sanitary pads were not part of the budget because there was never enough money. She used whatever was within reach to manage her period, not by choice, but because she had no other option.

While in medical school, Mariatu visited hospitals on Mondays and Fridays. At the adolescent friendly centre, she met girls who carried the same pain she once knew: confusion, shame, infections, fear, and silence. Many did not understand what was happening to their bodies, and many had no trusted person to ask. In their stories, she recognised her own.

She began joining school sensitisation sessions and speaking to girls about menstruation, a subject no one had explained to her when she needed it most. The conversations gave her comfort, and they gave the girls courage. Alongside like minded women on campus, she advocated for girls' empowerment, health, hygiene, family planning, self esteem, and drug abuse awareness. They did not have money, but they had conviction, voices, and a shared belief that girls deserved better.

Out of a large extended family of five step grandmothers, four wives, and many siblings, Mariatu became the first person in her family's history to graduate from university. She carried with her a conviction that had lived in her heart since girlhood: girls deserve better, and they need voices that can speak loudly enough to open doors for them.

Today, she is building that voice through SheCures.