About Us

Our Story

How we start ?

In 2011, a television program called ‘Khawater’ launched a campaign in Uganda where there was a call for five volunteers to participate in a five-day mission. The aim was to bring volunteers from the Arab world to engage them in supporting the marginalized and neglected communities in order to raise a sense of voluntarism and responsibility and bring more attention to community development projects in Africa.
The volunteers lived a life-changing experience where they were assigned to contribute to assisting the communities in different sectors:

The episodes

Saleh -Egypt, and Omar-Syria both helped in the construction of an orphanage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meIKZDORa3Q

Nadia-KSA as a physician she volunteered by working in HIV/AIDS Health Center
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meIKZDORa3Q

Khaled-Egypt stayed in an orphanage helping them in their daily tasks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM7jdXqmgqw

Mohiy-Egypt participated by teaching in a local school
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_brdm0ojh6Q

Our First step

Following the campaign and after exposure to values of voluntarism, the volunteers were motivated to establish a project to continue providing assistance to disadvantaged communities. An initiative named “Arabian Mzungu” was started to increase the sense of responsibility among Arabs towards marginalized communities in Uganda.
(Mzungu is a Southern, Central, and Eastern African term for a person of foreign descent. So if you’re a white person coming to Uganda, get used to the expression, as you’ll hear the greeting ‘ how are you Mzungu?’ everywhere you go.)
The initiative was based on providing assistance and enhancing livelihoods such as distribution of food, digging boreholes, getting people out of prison by paying their debts and paying school fees for students who cannot afford them.

Who are we ?

The initiative quickly developed into a Non-profit Organisation named SOFRAA (meaning ambassadors), embracing “Arabian Mzungu” as its first project targeting the marginalized and disadvantaged communities in Uganda. Sofraa was established to ensure the sustainability of development in Africa where it aims to extend support to more marginalized communities in Africa. Sofraa focuses on enhancing education, health, and socioeconomic status.

Our Mission

Our mission is to combat poverty by developing the marginalized and disadvantaged communities, improving their educational, medical, environmental, and professional services, and offering relief services to them, showing the true spirit of our Faith spreading the means of peace and prosper life.

Our Vision

Sofraa aspires to see the poorest communities enjoying distinguished educational, medical, environmental, cultural, and social services and to become one of the lead organizations in the field of volunteering.

Our Values

Equality and Diversity

We believe in meeting the needs of the most disadvantaged in local communities irrespective of their Race, Color, faith, beliefs, or age.

Continuous Learning

We strive to foster an atmosphere that supports continuous learning, enhancement of both individual and group impact as well as candid reflective evaluations of our work and the work of our grantees.

Integrity

We believe that integrity is vital to every aspect of our work. We strive for honesty, professionalism, and bringing our best effort to all that we do.

Proactivity

We embrace the spirit of an explorer – open to creative and engaging new approaches, taking risks and nimbly adapting to unanticipated challenges and changing environments, taking the initiative, and making change.

Respect & Collaboration

We promote mutual respect and open, collaborative relationships within the team and with our supporters, partners, and grantees.

Empowerment

We believe in each person’s ability to face their challenges to create a better life. We empower communities to know their worth and develop skills for generating better life opportunities.

Our Team

Khaled Abdou

CEO and Founder

Marwa Lotfy

Managing Director and Cofounder

Ssesibide Ismail

Country Director

Advisory Board

Sharif Semaganda

Legal advisor

Michael Kiika

Financial Advisor

Heba Abdeljawad

Educational advisor

Jwayreya Mohamed

Early childhood educational advisor

Team Members and Volunteers

Fahd Badoola

Field coordinator

Mai Ahmed

Public Relations

Maryam Mehanna

Social media team

Eman Gebril