African Rising Stories Spotlight: Lois Tofunmi

Amplifying Voices. Challenging Harm. Building Safer Futures.

In many communities, silence has long protected harmful traditions. Silence has allowed violence to hide in plain sight. Silence has kept girls from speaking about their pain.

But Lois Tofunmi chose a different path.

She chose to speak.

Lois is a sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and mental health advocate, development journalist, and radio presenter whose work lives at the intersection of voice and action. She understands that information can liberate, that storytelling can disrupt injustice, and that advocacy must reach both policy rooms and community streets.

As the Executive Director of Good Tides Philippian Mission Foundation, Lois leads campaigns and outreach initiatives focused on ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), strengthening child protection systems, and advancing women’s rights. But her work is not just about programmes or events, it is about people.

It is about the young girl who believes she has no choice.
It is about the mother who wants something better for her daughter but feels bound by tradition.
It is about communities that need safe conversations, not condemnation.

Through grassroots dialogues, radio programming, media advocacy, and community engagement, Lois creates spaces where difficult truths can be discussed openly. She brings clarity to complex issues, compassion to sensitive conversations, and courage to rooms where change is overdue.

Her advocacy against FGM is especially powerful. She recognizes it not just as a cultural issue, but as a human rights concern with deep physical and psychological consequences. Instead of approaching communities with hostility, she approaches them with education, empathy, and evidence, helping families understand that protecting girls strengthens the entire community.

But Lois does not stop at raising awareness. She pushes for systems that protect. She advocates for stronger child protection mechanisms. She amplifies policy conversations. She ensures that survivors are not just statistics but voices that shape the solutions meant to serve them.

As a development journalist and radio presenter, she uses media as a tool for transformation. Her platform becomes a bridge, connecting grassroots realities to wider audiences, translating policy into relatable language, and making conversations about gender justice accessible to everyday people.

What makes Lois’s work stand out is her understanding that violence is not only physical — it is emotional, psychological, and systemic. That is why mental health remains central to her advocacy. She champions healing alongside justice, resilience alongside reform.

In a world where many shy away from uncomfortable topics, Lois leans in.
In spaces where girls are told to be quiet, she hands them the microphone.
In systems that need reform, she demands accountability.

Lois Tofunmi represents a rising generation of African leaders who refuse to separate storytelling from systems change. She proves that advocacy is strongest when it is informed, compassionate, and rooted in community.

And through her work, one truth becomes clear:

When women and girls are safe, informed, and heard, communities rise.