AWCH Charity Cookbook
Supporting Women through
Charitable Giving
Let's Stay In
American Women‘s Club of Hamburg e.V.
Let's
Stay
In
Good & Simple Recipes
for Health & Well-Being
Supports 5. Hamburger Frauenhaus E.V.
BY CAROL S. AND BRIGITTE B.-R.
The 5th Hamburg Women’s
Shelter (5. Hamburger Frauenhaus)
has been AWCH’s local charity
since January 2019. One afternoon
we decided to sit down with one
of the shelter’s social workers—we
will call her Anke to preserve her
anonymity—and ask her to tell
us a couple of stories about the
women she and her colleagues
are sheltering. We knew that the
shelter was a protective home for
women, both with and without
children, who are threatened by
or have suffered domestic abuse
and who, once there, receive
temporary accommodation,
counseling, and support. What
we did not know was how much
the social workers of the shelter
care about empowering the
women under their wing, guiding
them towards a life of selfdetermination.
Most of the stories Anke told us
were full of hope. But the reality
was shocking. One out of every
three women in Germany has been
the victim of domestic violence.
They have suffered at the hands of
their partners, family members,
relatives, or other persons. For
these women (and their children),
domestic abuse was a part of their
daily lives—regardless of their
income or their level of education,
how old they were, or where they
came from. Abuse can appear at
any moment, break loose, and
suddenly something terrible
happens!
Anke was very protective of the
women she was working with at
the shelter. She never disclosed
their names nor the real conditions
under which they asked for shelter.
Of the numerous women with
whom Anke has interacted, one
story stands out. It is a story of
empowerment in action.
Memories rising, a voice full
of emotion, Anke started. One
day, at a meeting point, she met
a young woman—we will call
14 AWCH News & Events