Joselyn Dumas, widely recognized as a leading TV personality and actress in Ghana and across West Africa, is using her influence to champion some of the country’s most pressing social issues. Beyond her celebrated career in film and television, Dumas is deeply committed to advancing children’s rights, addressing health challenges, and confronting cultural taboos through her philanthropic efforts.
Raised in Accra with aspirations of becoming a pilot, Joselyn’s path took an unexpected turn when she joined the Ghanaian entertainment industry in her early twenties. She quickly gained acclaim for her roles in several productions, including the award-winning film A Northern Affair (2014), and now hosts the popular talk show At Home with Joselyn Dumas, reaching audiences across Africa and Europe.
However, Dumas’s passion extends far beyond the screen. She founded the Joselyn Canfor-Dumas Foundation with a vision to protect and empower vulnerable children in Ghana. The foundation focuses on ensuring children’s access to quality education, healthcare, and opportunities for a better life. It also supports hospitals, provides medical treatments for conditions such as autism and sickle cell anemia, and runs public awareness campaigns tackling issues like cholera, plastic pollution, and climate change.
One of the challenges Joselyn highlights is how deeply rooted cultural taboos impact girls’ education. In some communities, for example, it is taboo for menstruating girls and women to cross rivers, which many children must do to reach school. This, along with widespread ‘period poverty’—the lack of access to sanitary products—results in many girls missing significant school time, exacerbating gender inequalities in education.
Joselyn leverages her skills as an entertainer to engage communities in creative and memorable ways. Through role-play, drumming, and dance, the foundation’s educational efforts combine fun with learning, helping change behaviors around health and the environment.
Her public platform has been instrumental in attracting support for these causes. With a large social media following, Joselyn actively mobilizes funds and volunteers to extend the foundation’s work. She encourages fellow celebrities to use their visibility not only to entertain but also to foster meaningful social change.
As an advocate of sustainable living, Joselyn models responsible behavior by reducing her own environmental impact—refusing plastic straws, using a water filter instead of buying bottled water, and carrying reusable coffee cups. She believes everyone is a leader in creating positive change and urges collective action for a better future.
Joselyn Dumas’s journey exemplifies how celebrity influence can be a powerful catalyst in tackling social taboos and improving the lives of children, making a lasting impact well beyond the spotlight.
