SONNE-International celebrates its 10th anniversary

SONNE-International was founded on 20 July 2002 and we want to seize this opportunity to thank everybody who has supported us. With your help we have been able to put a great many important projects in Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Myanmar and India into practice. We are looking forward to many more successful years!

That’s how everything started. On this photo you can see Erfried and Susanne in Ladakh, where they met for the first time. Susanne remembers how the idea of founding SONNE-International was born:

“In Ladakh, at 4000 meters above sea level, we decided that philosophizing about inequality and injustice was not enough and that we finally wanted to contribute actively towards changing things and making a positive impact on this world. The idea of founding an organisation of our own was born.”

Picture: de.wikipedia.org

Myanmar at a Turning Point

The political situation in Myanmar (Burma) is changing. Encrusted structures are beginning to break up, first signs of a liberalization can be registered. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has just won the by-elections by an overwhelming majority. The quest for reforms appears to be on track. The economy, too, has been given fresh impetus. Many NGOs are bent on starting new projects, some of them on a large scale.

SONNE-International has been active in Myanmar since 2008. In this changing environment we are currently looking for new partners with whom we can put new, larger and more sustainable projects into practice. We are confident that we will be able to reap the rewards for our efforts in the foreseeable future!

Links to our existing projects in Myanmar (Burma):
Project 1, Project 2, Project 3

Our Latest Project: A Hostel for Students in Alikodom, Bangladesh

By acquiring a building plot of at least 4000m² we intend to give an even greater number of disadvantaged children and adolescents from minority groups that live in the surrounding countryside access to higher education. We are planning the construction of a hostel for 15 girls and 15 boys as well as a dining-room, a cyber café, a computer training centre, a library and an office. For these children we urgently need foster parents!! Please refer to the information about our sponsorship project under the heading “Your Support”. Many thanks!

It gives us great pleasure to announce that our chairman, Erfried Malle, has been elected “Austrian of the year 2011” in the category “humanitarian engagement” by the readers of the prestigious Austrian newspaper “Die Presse”. We would like to thank you and everyone who voted for him. We are really pleased that so many people appreciate Mr. Malle’s work and believe in his vision to give the deprived children of this world a better future! We at SONNE International intend to make use of this valuable prize in order to intensify and extend our efforts for a better world. Be assured that we will not stop standing up for the rights of children and adolescents in remote parts of the world to education and to a minimum of hygiene and health care. Many thanks!

Our Annual Report 2011 is now online!

The annual report 2011 can be found under the heading “Downloads/Media”.

Our wall calendar

Please support our organisation with the purchase of a SONNE wall calendar 2012 (Format A2) at the price of € 23,00 (postage not included). This calendar presents the most beautiful photos taken by members of the SONNE staff in the project areas in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Ethiopia. Its sale will help us to finance aid projects in these countries.

Shipping and handling charges in Austria: € 7,00

Our bound calendar

You can also support our organisation by purchasing SONNE’s bound calendar 2012 at the price of € 15,00 (postage not included).

Postage in Austria: € 3,00