ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2025
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. This year, 60,000+ young leaders applied to join the Class of 2025 on 7,000+ campuses across 170 nations. 290+ campuses worldwide (less than 5%) were selected to host the 4,500+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT MERCY LUM SOUNJOH, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.
Ebonyi State University | Abakaliki, Nigeria | Advancing SDG 5, SDG 5 & UNAI 6
" My vision of a world where African women in particular can be free to be and express themselves, reach their full potential, an Africa where young girls can fearlessly identify what it is they want and go for it unapologetically. Also, to curb sexual exploitation of our young girls. This keeps me going. I believe that the girl child needs nurturing and guidance to become the best versions of herself, so here I am dedicating myself to that course. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Her Path to Power
In this part of the world where the HPP team finds ourselves, we have little to no control on how most male counterparts perceive and treat women. It is the part of the world where we still constantly have to deal with laymen who don't understand the essence of gender equality. Thus, Her Path to Power is a girl-centered initiative designed to equip middle to late-adolescent girls with knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), as well as the skills and confidence they need to protect themselves, lead their peers, and advocate for gender equality and safety in their communities. The initiative will include mentorship programs, leadership development, self-defense and personal safety workshops, legal literacy sessions, and mechanisms for reporting violence. Our goal is to ensure that these girls come out into the world willing to thrive, fully self-aware that they are free to fly and alert on ways to defend themselves and their peers against gender-based violence.
About the Millennium Fellow
Sounjoh Mercy Lum is a vibrant and passionate student at the Ebonyi State University, Nigeria. She was born in Cameroon but currently resides and schools in Nigeria where she fled to in 2019 as a refugee due to ongoing strikes and insecurity back in her hometown Bamenda, Cameroon. Since then, she has been exposed to different personal experiences which have ignited in her a passion for women's sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR). Throughout her time in school, she has been an active advocate for gender equality and SRHR with a vision to expand this advocacy globally. Mercy currently serves as the National President of the National Union of Cameroon students (NUCS), Nigeria where she has organized several outstanding projects centered on personal growth, skill acquisition, gender equality and equity. She's committed to becoming a valuable asset to the society and a mentor to adolescent girls, guiding them to understand their bodies, build confidence and claim autonomy over their reproductive health.
