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The founding of SOLWODI
SOLWODI (SOLidarity with WOmen in DIstress) is a non-denominational and non-partisan charity organisation that helps women in distress. Its origins lie in Mombasa, Kenya, where the idea for SOLWODI was born in 1985.
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While working as a teacher in Mombasa in the 1980s, Sister Dr. Lea Ackermann learned of Kenyan women who as a result of dire poverty, were compelled to work as prostitutes. The horrifying situation galvanised her in 1985 to launch SOLWODI, an organisation that until today offers help and advice for Kenyan prostitutes.
Upon her return to Germany, Lea Ackermann realised that foreign women here encountered the very same problems. As a result, she founded in 1987 the non-profit charity SOLWODI Germany. The organisation works independently and with no religious affiliation for the rights of migrant women in Germany who are in need of support and are victims of trafficking, exploitation, violence or forced marriages.
The key areas of engagement are psychosocial support, legal aid, safe houses, help with integration or return to their homeland.