Chefu Joy: A Barrister at Service of Humanity

She is a lawyer with a big heart. Not only is she determined to defend those whose rights are trampled upon, but she has gone an extra mile in assisting the needy and impacting community. She is Barrister Chefu Joy, and she hails from the North West Region of Cameroon. Being a lawyer was not her original plan. However when she discovered she could make money while serving humanity as a lawyer she wholeheartedly embraced the profession and has been thriving ever since.

Humanitarian work

Taking advantage of the fact that she has in-depth knowledge of the law, she is bridging the gap between the Clapham omnibus, that is to say the ordinary Cameroonian and the law. How does she do this? The good Barrister has a massive online following and social media presence. Through her different platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, she makes a lot of educational posts, videos and write-ups on Cameroons legal system. “Unfortunately, a majority of Cameroonians are lost when it comes to knowledge of the law” she says. “I call this an achievement because of the feedback I get from the online community and even the people who I meet on a daily basis. What they say about my Facebook outings are positive and motivate me to do more” she added.

« Being a lawyer has helped me to be a good leader. »

Chefu Joy, Lawyer, Human Rights Activist

The Chefu Sirri Foundation

Following an experience she had while visiting a prison, where she met someone who was wrongfully jailed and had no way out or someone to help get him justice, Barrister Chefu Joy decided to start a foundation to help provide humanitarian aid to those in need. “Most people find themselves in offense because they first of all don’t know that it is an offence, others because they don’t know the technicalities of the law” she said. “So, I felt like, how do I help these people? That was just the birth of the foundation” she added. The foundation is just an extension of all the humanitarian work she had previously been doing with civil society organisations, such as educating the public on legal matters, and doing presentations at seminars.

Impact Activities

Tea Chefu Sirri Foundation has and continues to impact the Cameroonian public through legal and moral sensitization, as well as aid. The foundation has programs where they visit schools, churches and communities to sensitize the public on gender-based violence, violence as a whole, hate speech, the use of drugs and alcohol. This sensitization goes a long way to help the public as she says “When we sensitize, people come to us, some of which are victims and we see how we can help them to come out of whatever situation they’re in. » Some accomplished tasks of the foundation include physical visits to about eight schools so far, five communities and pro-bono cases handled for those who could not afford good legal aid. displaced persons especially women. “At the moment, we are not able to reach as many people as we will love to » said Barrister Chefu. « In the nearest future as impact grows and we get more partners and sponsors, we should be able to do more work for our community.” She added.

“When we sensitise, people come to us, some of which are victims and we see how we can help them to come out of whatever situation they’re in. »

Chefu Joy, Lawyer, Human Rights Activist

Awards and recognition

Barrister Chefu has won several awards and recognition. In 2021, she won The Focus Africa Award in the field of legal leadership. This was due to the fact that she leveraged her skills as a lawyer to do community work. In 2022, she was counted among 100 emerging female leaders in Africa. All this, she says is thanks to her being a lawyer, as she uses her knowledge as lawyer to educate people.