About – SSO

OUR STORY

SONNE Social Organization (SSO) is a local registered non-governmental organization (NGO). Since 2016 the organization is officially registered as such (No.: local-0135, dated 07,2016). Before that, SSO was working under the name of „Myanmar Professional Social Workers Association“ (MPSWA). Since 2008 we work closely together with the Austrian based “SONNE-International” (non-profit organization) as the local partner organization.

SONNE stands for “Support Organization for Non-formal Needed Education” and focuses on education, health and support programmes. The principle from the beginning has been to provide a secure and promising life through accessible education and healthcare to vulnerable and marginalized children and youth in Myanmar. The organization’s understanding of development assistance includes: inclusivity, respect, transparency and dialogue. The work is carried out with local people (village associations) and puts huge emphasis on a community building approach.

Aside from our core team at the Yangon office, the social workers, teachers, cooks, and trainers are all an essential part of the “SONNE family” in Myanmar. We all share the same vision of helping disadvantaged children and youth to a better life, one of possibility, opportunity and education. They are all daily proof that, regardless of role, responsibility, position, social status, rich or poor, above everything, all it takes is a big heart to knuckle down and get the job done.

OUR MISSION

We believe in change.

Our work principles are simple: create as many opportunities as possible to positively impact and change a child’s life, towards a secure, fair and promising livelihood. Because EVERY child counts. That’s what we work for.

There are many problems. We start our solution with the youngest generation.

After decades of stagnation, Myanmar is changing and developing at a heady pace, politically, socially, and economically. The benefits of these positive developments, however, have not yet reached the poor and disadvantaged of Myanmar’s society and it is likely to be a long time yet before our work here is concluded.

The streets of Yangon are also home to thousands of children and youth. Many are homeless or sent out onto the streets to earn what little money they can. A particularly hazardous income source is the collection and sorting of rubbish. Injuries and infections are common and the dangers are numerous: unstable landfills, collapsing piles of rubbish, cuts from sharp and dirty objects, broken glass, toxic chemicals, and even arrest (unauthorized rubbish-collecting is illegal). Most of these vulnerable children don’t have access to education and therefore, are unlikely to free themselves out of this vicious cycle.

Let’s turn challenges into chances. Education instead of rubbish collection.

Our goal is to give these most vulnerable children and young people perspectives and a chance to lead a life in dignity. We aim to accomplish this through the provision of comprehensive care and support in education, health care, nutrition, and the assistance of families. Currently, about 1500 children, adolescents, and their families benefit from our projects. Looking ahead, we want to expand our operations and team in order to enlarge our impact and turn more children’s challenging lives into lives full of opportunities.