Lea Ackermann

Lea Ackermann (born 1937) studied education, psychology and theology. As a member of a religious order, she taught in Rwanda for five years, then worked for seven years as an educational consultant with Mission München and as a lecturer at the Catholic University of Eichstätt. In 1985, she became involved in Mombasa with women driven into prostitution by poverty and sex tourism. This work led to the founding of SOLWODI (Solidarity with Women in Distress), which Ackermann established as an association in Germany in 1988. Her work was recognized with, among other honors, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1996, the “Woman of Europe” award in 1998, an honorary doctorate from the University of Lucerne and the Romano Guardini Prize in 2008, and the Anton Martini Memorial Prize in 2009.