Hofmann was born in
Affoltern am Albis in Switzerland in 1962. She attended
Collège Calvin and after trained in
business administration and finance following which she had a seven-year career in various banks and multinational companies. In 1989 she was working for a large charity in
Beira in Mozambique where she saw for herself the result of the
Mozambican War of Independence (1964-1974) and the
Mozambican Civil War (1977-1994), both of which lead to great poverty for many people in the country. What she saw decided her to devote her life to helping the orphans in Mozambique. On completion of successful renegotiations she opened the first Home for war orphans in 1992, firstly in tents, which provided food, education and accommodation for 300 children orphaned as a result of the conflicts. In 1991 Hofmann founded ASEM Switzerland through which voluntary workers collected essential resources to transfer to Beira. ASEM Switzerland was followed in 1995 by the setting up of the support organisations ASEM Portugal and ASEM New York, with ASEM Mozambique and ASEM Italy following in 1999, while in 2005 ASEM Canada and in 2016 Friends of ASEM USA were started. ASEM Mozambique will only employ local staff, many of whom are former orphans who having completed their education and training in ASEM schools use their skills for the benefit of ASEM, enabling other children in similar circumstances to also find a way out of poverty. Several children helped by Hofmann have gone on to receive university degrees, while others have studied in other countries, obtained jobs and started families. Hofmann caught
malaria in January 2001 and for more than a month she was in a coma on a hospital ward in
Johannesburg where she received
dialysis and
intravenous therapy, among other life-saving treatments. Although she survived the illness her liver, lungs and kidneys took nearly five years to recover. During her absence the local staff at ASEM-Mozambique ensured that the work of the centre continued. Since 2005, more than 300 children have been living in the two centres — Gorongoza and Vilankulo — in
Beira, while more than 20,000 children and adolescents have received an education at ASEM's free schools along with other benefits. ASEM Mozambique consists of four physical school centres (
Pre-K through
high school) providing food, education, and skill training to over 6,000 children and young adults in the
Sofala region of central Mozambique: these are the Manga, Macurungo, and Gorongoza (currently closed) schools in
Beira, while the Majianza school, which also has a preschool, is situated in
Vilankulo. Today Hofmann works for ASEM as a volunteer, dealing with staff training, psychological support for children and young people, fundraising and public relations, representing ASEM in meetings with governmental and non-governmental agencies, both nationally and internationally, financial administration and general supervision of the ASEM structures. ==Honours and awards==