About Us
We exist so no girl faces her period alone.
Mavena Health Initiative is a Cameroon-based nonprofit dedicated to menstrual health education, hygiene access, and adolescent reproductive-health awareness.
Who We Are
We work at the intersection of knowledge, dignity, and access.
We believe that when a girl understands her body and has the tools she needs, everything changes. Mavena partners with schools, local leaders, health workers, and families to create environments where menstrual health is openly discussed, scientifically understood, and practically supported.
Our programs reach girls and women in underserved communities across Cameroon, with a vision that extends to every region where women’s health has been overlooked.
“Every girl deserves to grow into womanhood informed, supported, and unashamed.”
Our Story
How Mavena began
Mavena started with a memory — the memory of being 13 years old and seeing your period for the first time with no idea what it was, what to do, or where to turn. That experience was not unique. It was shared by nearly every girl in the community.
What made it worse was knowing the solution was not complicated. A consistent supply of sanitary pads at school. Educational sessions for girls. Trained school nurses and teachers who could answer questions without shame. Simple things — but things that were simply not there.
Founded as Operation Maveun — a name drawn from the word M’veun in the founder’s native Cameroonian dialect, meaning Queen.
Programs expanded to include school outreach, sanitary product distribution, and community stigma-breaking campaigns.
Now operating as Mavena Health Initiative, with a growing vision to reach underserved communities across Africa and beyond.
Meet The Founder
The person behind the mission
Isabelle Tchoungang
Founder & Executive Director · Medical Student, United States
Isabelle is a Cameroonian medical student currently in her second year of training in the United States. She founded Mavena in 2020, driven by a firsthand understanding of how little menstrual and reproductive-health education reaches girls in her home community in Cameroon.
Passionate about women’s health and dermatology, Isabelle actively researches the connections between hormonal cycles, skin health, PCOS, and reproductive wellness. Mavena is where her work in women’s health, education, and community impact began.