Our Story

“We thought: we are not a big body that could start changing people’s lives, but every change in somebody’s life begins with the small things you do for them.”

The story of Platform Africa is that of resilience, hope, and beating the odds in the face of crisis – Our founders are twice-over refugees whose stories started in the refugee camps of Koboko, Northern Uganda where South Sudanese fled to during years of incessant civil conflict between Southern Sudan and northern Sudan. The country (Sudan before the secession of the South in 2011) was marred in a historically divisive politics stretched by differences in religion, culture, and sharing of resources making the country a battle-field that displaced millions of people to refugees camps to Uganda, Kenya, Congo, and other countries in East Africa and beyond.

Jaiksana was born and lived half of his life in the refugee camp where access to basic services was a luxury – the refugees were faced with a general breakdown of community dynamics as there was limited or no proper education facilities, vocational centers, and employment schemes. The average level of education that most refugees attained was primary 7, and it also happened that teachers of the same qualification taught most schools Due to this and other factors, When the CPA or Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed on January 9, 2005, marking an end to over two decades of civil conflict, many south Sudanese including his (Jaiksana) Dad left Uganda and return to South Sudan in search for opportunities.

In 2011, South Sudan achieved independence elevating the hopes of South Sudanese as many asylees and refugees million homes, build businesses and schools, and was hoping for a re-start, however, barely two years after independence conflict erupted again displacing over 2 million south Sudan. In a snap of a finger, every hope, dream, and venture were shattered and like Jaiksana many South Sudanese are back to square one in a situation where peace remains elusive.

When Romeo Lomora and Jaiksana Soro fled from South Sudan to northern Uganda after the conflict relapsed in 2016, they encountered a shattering scenario in Rhino Camp. “There were all these high unemployment levels, the youth became frustrated, there were high levels of trauma, we saw a drop-down of morality, drugs, prostitution… The whole scenario didn’t look good. We thought: we are not a big body that could start changing people’s lives, but every change in somebody’s life begins with the small things you do for them” recalls co-founder Romeo Lomora. Jaiksana Jambu was born a refugee, just like his mother. She moved to Rhino Camp due to the war between northern and southern Sudan.

“She didn’t go to school because the people who run the refugee camp by then thought the people were going to stay here for a short time and then move back. Infrastructure to help people go to school and gain skills were not set in place. My mother ended up growing in a refugee camp without education. We ended up also partaking in that story.”

Since founded, we have held on to the goal of helping support communities create the change they want to see. Our efforts are focused on closing gaps in access to quality education through a range of programs and STEM-informed training utilizing open technologies, strengthening social cohesion through conflict mitigation and peace-building engagements, and empowering a solution-driven community harnessing entrepreneurship as a vehicle to help turn ideas of local communities into purposeful and transformative ventures.