Who we are

About us

The ANAR Foundation is a non-profit organisation helping children and teenagers at risk. It originally dates back to 1970, and focuses on promoting and protecting the rights of children who are in situations of risk and abandonment, by developing projects in both Spain and Latin America within the context of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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Our vision

What we aspire to

Our vision is of a world where all children and teenagers have the right for their voice to be heard about situations in life that affect them, and whenever their rights are infringed.
Aware that they are the most defenceless members of our society, our vision is that of a world where these children and teenagers have their rights fully protected.

Our mission

What our purpose is

Listen

Our mission is to listen to the children and teenagers who call us via the ANAR phonelines and chat, as well as any other technological resources and communication systems that might subsequently be developed and implemented within society.

Help

Our mission is to reach out to children and teenagers, so as to help them with their problems or concerns, protect and thoroughly empower them in all their needs, giving them an active role in resolving their own problems.

Foster

Our mission is to foster abandoned children and teenagers in our homes, providing them with a warm, safe place that becomes a healthy focal point in their lives.

Motivate

Our mission is to forge bonds with the educational system, helping children and teenagers to achieve greater levels of reflection and understanding of their reality.

Prevent

Our mission is to use our Study Centre to reflect back to society what youngsters tell us, in order to adopt the necessary preventive, educational and legislative measures to improve their reality.

What makes
us different?

Absolute professionalism All our professionals go through a 95-hour theoretical training course specialising in childhood and adolescence

Absolute professionalism

They trust us Children come to us asking for help, and tell us things they do not dare tell anyone

They trust us

Study Centre We record the voice of children and teenagers in the only database of its kind in Spain, to conduct our research and reports

Study Centre

Resource guide We are the gateway to the child protection system, with a guide containing over 16,000 resources to help children and youngsters

Resource guide

Confidentiality We guarantee confidentiality in all our actions

Confidentiality

International coordination We function in a network with all the Child and Teenage Helplines in Europe and Latin America

International coordination

Accessibility Our help covers the whole of Spain

Accessibility

Social impact Through the ANAR Phoneline/Chat, we help more than 11,000 children and teenagers in Spain every year

Social impact

History of anar

50 years of ANAR Foundation

2017ANAR Chat
Adapting to the new forms of communication used by younger people, we launched the ANAR Chat, a new child and teenage health programme using new technologies.
2013ANAR chile phoneline
Adapting to the new forms of communication used by younger people, we launched the ANAR Chat, a new child and teenage health programme using new technologies.
2010ANAR missing children phoneline
The ANAR Phoneline for Missing Children and Teenagers has been in operation since 2010, as a single standardised number throughout the European Union offering emotional support to families 24 hours a day, along with legal and social advice, assistance in reporting incidents and an immediate connection to the State Law Enforcement Agencies and the network of all 116000 phonelines in Europe.
2007ANAR email
The ANAR Email service, in operation since 2007, is another channel of communication available via www.anar.org, providing support for youngsters as well as their adult relatives and teachers.
2004ANAR in schools
The Foundation is likewise present in primary and secondary schools, to explain the ANAR helplines to their students, teachers and parents’ associations. It likewise performs training initiatives addressing the various problems of greatest concern to the educational community.
1998ANAR in Perú
With the same philosophy as in Spain, the ANAR Foundation has consolidated its presence in Latin America, and is behind the establishment of foster homes in Colombia and the ANAR Phoneline in Peru.
1995Reports and Studies since 1995
The Foundation, through its Center for Studies and Research, carries out important and recognized reports and studies on the situation of children and adolescents in Spain.
1994Helpline for children and teenagers
In 1994 the ANAR Helpline for Children and Teenagers at Risk was set up as a confidential freephone service operating nationwide, 24-hours a day throughout the year. The phoneline offers immediate psychological, social and legal support for children and teenagers who face problems or are at risk.
1994ANAR helpline for adults and relatives
The ANAR Phoneline for Relatives and Schools has likewise been in operation since 1994, as a support service intended for adults requiring guidance in matters connected with children.
1992ANAR homes in latin america
With the same philosophy as in Spain, the ANAR Foundation has consolidated its presence in Latin America, and is behind the establishment of foster homes in Colombia and the ANAR Phoneline in Peru.
1970Foster homes in Spain
Since it was first founded, the Foundation has worked with the ANAR Homes, foster homes for children and teenagers who lack an appropriate family setting. 

Timeline
of the ANAR Foundation

2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2011
2010
2007
2006
2003
2001
1998
1997
1994
1991
1970
ANAR presents Study into “Sexual abuse of children and teenagers according to those affected and its evolution in Spain (2008-2019)”

The ANAR Foundation Study Centre produced this Study into sexual abuse given our awareness of the situation we experience via the Helplines, and our concern at the increase in cases of sexual abuse in which we have been offering support over recent years. This hugely delicate problem remains a concealed reality which fails to come to light because the victims do not talk about it, and it was only through the anonymity and confidentiality of the ANAR Phoneline/Chat that a sample of 6,183 cases could be obtained over the past decade. The Study, presented at the Professional Association of Psychologists, received a very positive response from academics, universities, organisations focused on this issue, public institutions and society at large.

ANAR, essential service during lockdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic

On 14 March the Government decreed a state of emergency and a lockdown of the entire population, which forced the ANAR Phoneline to close down. Given the urgent need to continue offering support to children and teenagers throughout Spain at what was such a difficult time for them, the real challenge was to allow them to continue contacting us from home while guaranteeing their confidentiality. In less than a week we managed to resolve the issue by using the ANAR Chat as a silent and secure channel for youngsters at risk. This gave us a way into their homes, to help them through times when no one else could help. ANAR thus became an essential service for Spanish society during the Covid-19 period.

ANAR appears before the Congress of Deputies during the Coronavirus pandemic

Before lockdown ended, in the month of May, the Committee for Social and Economic Reconstruction of the Congress of Deputies asked the ANAR Foundation to appear before Congress. The wealth of data obtained during the period through the ANAR Chat, which allowed children and teenagers to call us from home in privacy, meant that our study Centre had access to privileged information in real time, which is why we were asked to offer recommendations regarding Children and Teenagers during the process of easing the lockdown and returning to normality.

UCM (Complutense University of Madrid) honours ANAR Foundation as “Best Organisation for Practical Placements”

In 2019 the Complutense University established an award for partner institutions. This allows each faculty to recognise what it sees as the best organisation for its students to complete their practical placements. In this first year of the award, the Psychology Faculty named the ANAR Foundation as “Best Organisation for Practical Placements for Psychology Students”, thanks to the multidisciplinary theoretical and practical training at the ANAR Phoneline, dealing with children and teenagers. The Complutense University has also established its Excellence Bursaries, allowing those students with the best academic record to complete practical placements at the ANAR Foundation. También la Universidad Complutense crea las Becas de Excelencia para que los alumnos con mejor expediente hagan sus prácticas en la Fundación ANAR.

ANAR Foundation presents the Congress of Deputies and the Senate with the Study “Evolution of Violence against Children and Teenagers in Spain according to the Victims (2009-2016)”

This was the first longitudinal study into violence against children and teenagers to be drawn up in Spain. It analysed more than 25,000 cases of violence between 2009 and 2016. ANAR aimed through this study to highlight the very significant increase in violence against children in the country. The information proved highly significant in driving the establishment of the Comprehensive Act to Combat Violence against Children in Spain (the “LOPIVI”).

ANAR Foundation receives the Silver Cross of the Order of Merit of the Civil Guard

The Ministry of the Interior granted the ANAR Foundation the Silver Cross of the Order of Merit of the Civil Guard. The award was handed to the President of ANAR by the Director of the Civil Guard in recognition of the close working relationship between the two institutions since 1994. The ANAR Phoneline refers and acts in particularly serious and high-risk cases on a daily basis in collaboration with the Civil Guard.

ANAR opens the Children’s and Teenagers’ Help Chat

True to its innovative nature, and in line with new technologies, the Foundation set up the ANAR Help Chat for children and teenagers, using the channel that youngsters themselves use to communicate. This allows the Foundation to reach out to them and provide a safe, confidential and professional forum where teenagers can communicate. The channel has proved particularly useful in detecting very serious cases of children and teenagers in situations of risk.

ANAR Foundation President receives the “8th of March Accolade” of the Autonomous Region of Madrid

The President of the ANAR Foundation, Ms Silvia Moroder, received the 8th of March Accolade: “Star of the Region of Madrid” from the regional President, Ms Cristina Cifuentes. At the ceremony she expressed thanks for “the 47 years spent defending Children and Teenagers in both Spain and Latin America”.

ANAR Foundation sets up ANAR Childhood and Adolescence Study Centre

The ANAR Foundation, aware as it is of the wealth of information derived from the requests for help received by the ANAR Phoneline/Chat, set up the Childhood and Adolescence Study Centre, to reflect the “voice of children and teenagers” back to society. One further aim of the ANAR Study Centre is for its studies and reports to lead to the adoption of the measures required to prevent the major problems facing youngsters in Spain.

ANAR receives the Menina Award from the Government Office for Gender Violence

The Government Office for Gender Violence, a body dependent on the Ministry of Health, Social Affairs and Equality, bestowed its “Menina Award” on the ANAR Foundation for its efforts “to achieve a society free of violence against women”. The ANAR President was handed the accolade by the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, at an event held at the Moncloa Palace to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

ANAR Foundation receives José Luis Pinillos Award for Excellence and Innovation in Psychology

The Deans of the Faculties of Psychology and the Deans of the Professional Associations of Psychologists throughout Spain bestowed the “José Luis Pinillos Award for Excellence and Innovation in Psychology” on the ANAR Foundation. The honour represented the greatest recognition in Spain of the excellent work performed by the ANAR Phoneline psychologists, through their working methods and innovation.

ANAR receives National Social Volunteering Award

The Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality bestowed the 2015 National Social Volunteering Award on the ANAR Foundation. The accolade recognises its efforts through volunteering, for the benefit of children and teenagers who are at risk and unprotected. The award specifically recognises the high standard of professionalism among the ANAR volunteers, thanks to their 95 hours of high-level theoretical and practical training. This highly professional and specialised work is essential in order to be able to assist all children and teenagers who call the ANAR Phoneline.

Royal Audience with Her Majesty Queen Leticia

Her Majesty Queen Leticia gave an audience to the Board of Trustees of the ANAR Foundation. Over the course of the Audience, the President explained the programmes undertaken by the Foundation, in both Spain and Latin America. Her Majesty showed an interest in the considerable impact that the ANAR Phoneline has in reaching out to all children and teenagers in Spain.

ANAR Peru Phoneline receives recognition from Marta Santos País, UN Representative

Marta Santos País, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, recognised the major achievements of the ANAR Phoneline for the benefit of Peruvian children: “This phoneline is hugely useful in providing assistance and heightening our analysis of the different dimensions of violence against children…” “The phoneline fulfils a fundamental role in helping to improve the structuring and coordination of the institutions that make up the protection system”.

Her Majesty Queen Sofía presents Silvia Moroder, President of the ANAR Foundation, with the Silver Cross of the Civil Order of Social Security

The Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality awarded the President of the ANAR Foundation the Silver Cross in recognition of 44 years of efforts in Spain, and as the driver of the ANAR Programmes in Latin America, specifically: Peru, Colombia and Mexico.

Missing Children Europe Platform founded

In 2013 the Missing Children Europe Platform was founded, comprising all phonelines within the European Union providing support for missing and sexually exploited children, of which the ANAR Foundation has been a member since the outset. Our membership of this platform allows the ANAR Foundation to operate in a network with all missing children phonelines in the EU. There are 30 organisations in 26 countries.

ANAR Peru launches ANAR Phoneline in Quechua

The ANAR Peru Foundation launched its ANAR Phoneline in Quechua with the aim that all Quechua-speaking children and teenagers in the Andes would have access to psychological, social and legal support in their mother tongue. The phoneline was recognised by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children “as an essential landmark in strengthening the national child protection system… which will allow the country to make clear progress towards the goal of a life free of violence against children”.

ANAR Foundation organises 5th Child Helpline International World Congress

The ANAR Foundation organised the 5th World Congress of the CHI (Child Helpline International) in Madrid, attended by representatives of 119 helplines from all 5 continents. In parallel, the ANAR Foundation organised a young people’s forum, at which over 100 teenagers discussed the problems faced in childhood and adolescence, before presenting their conclusions to all the representatives of the child helplines from the participating countries.

ANAR appointed CHI Head of Europe and Americas Regions

The ANAR Spain Foundation was unanimously chosen as the Head of the Europe Region. Votes in the election came from all the European child helplines belonging to the CHI. At the same Congress, the ANAR Peru Foundation was voted Head of the Americas Region (Latin America, USA and Canada). Between 2010 and 2014, the ANAR Spain Phoneline and ANAR Peru Phoneline were responsible for the Europe and Americas Regions.

ANAR Missing Children Phoneline opens

The ANAR Foundation opened its Missing Children Phoneline. The number 116000, standardised throughout the European Union, has been declared of social interest by the European Commission. In Spain it was assigned to the ANAR Foundation by the Ministry of the Interior. To develop the system, ANAR has signed a partnership agreement with the State Law Enforcement Agencies. The ANAR Foundation also operates a network with other missing children phonelines throughout the countries of the European Union.

ANAR appears before the European Parliament

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament invited the ANAR Foundation to give a presentation in the Parliament chamber entitled: “ANAR Phoneline as an example of a Helpline for Children and Teenagers at Risk in Europe”. The ANAR Foundation attended the European Parliament to explain the importance of child helplines in Europe to MEPs. The ANAR Phoneline set-up was chosen as a model for child helplines in the European Union.

El Teléfono ANAR Perú recibe el apoyo del Comité de Derechos del Niño de Naciones Unidas

ANAR Peru Phone receives the support of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child sends the Government of Peru its recognition of the work of the ANAR Peru Telephone in favor of children and urges the Peruvian Government to provide the necessary resources for its expansion and growth. Thanks to this recognition, the Peruvian government became aware of the importance of the ANAR Peru Telephone supporting its growth and development.

ANAR promotes creation of Child Helpline International

Founding of CHI: Child Helpline International, of which the ANAR Foundation is a founding member. The platform’s aim is to open helplines for children and teenagers worldwide. Having begun in Europe, it has become a reality. Child helplines now exist on all 5 continents.

“Comendador” Order of Merit Award for Distinguished Services in Peru

The Honourable Javier Pérez de Cuellar, Acting President of Peru, presented Silvia Moroder, Founder of ANAR Peru, with the “Comendador” Order of Merit Award for Distinguished Services. The honour was granted in recognition of the work performed by the ANAR Helpline to defend and protect children’s rights in Peru.

ANAR Phoneline opens in Peru

Having built up 4 years of experience with the ANAR Phoneline in Spain, the ANAR Phoneline in Peru opened in 1997. This was the first helpline for children and teenagers to be set up in Latin America. The phoneline has received considerable recognition in South America, serving as a model for other Spanish-speaking lines which have been started up having received training at ANAR Peru.

ANAR Foundation organises first European Child Helpline Congress

The ANAR Foundation organised the first European Child Helpline Congress in partnership with the European union through the DAPHNE project, held on 13-14 November at the Euroforum in El Escorial, Madrid. The event was attended by representatives of NGOs from 16 countries that administer child helplines in Europe, demonstrating the organisation’s capacity to manage European projects and play a leading role in the field of child helplines.

Reception with His Highness Felipe de Borbón, Prince of Asturias, for the ANAR Foundation Trustees

His Highness Prince Felipe de Borbón took an interest in the innovative work performed by the ANAR Foundation, welcoming its Board of Trustees to the Zarzuela Palace to receive detailed information about the organisation’s work. They explained to him how the ANAR Foundation reaches out to all children and teenagers in Spain. He was likewise told about the serious problems that many of them face and with which the Foundation helps them through its ANAR Phoneline, by offering them the support they need to improve their lives.

ANAR Phoneline opens in Spain

After a lengthy process, the ANAR Phoneline was set up to help children and teenagers. People had difficulty understanding such an innovative support platform, and it took two years before it could begin operations in Spain. On 2 February 1994 the ANAR Helpline for Children and Teenagers at Risk was launched with a press conference attended by the Minister of Social Affairs, Cristina Alberdi, and the President of the ANAR Foundation, Silvia Moroder. As soon as the presentation ended, the ANAR Phoneline began to receive the first calls, which have increased in number ever since. The ANAR Phoneline was the third Children’s Helpline to open worldwide.

ANAR Family and School Phoneline opens

Shortly after the ANAR Phoneline began operations, we opened this new number intended for younger children who could not speak for themselves, and over time it has also become the ideal resource to help out teenagers. The phoneline provides assistance and guidance for legal minors, and is intended for families, school staff, neighbours and any other adult within their social circle. Because “behind a child or teenager with problems, there is an adult who needs guidance”.

ANAR opens Shelter Homes in Latin America

1991 was a landmark year for Fundación ANAR because it became present in three Latin American countries: Colombia, Peru and Mexico. After 21 years, the foster homes in Madrid had been consolidated. Knowing the great needs of the children in Latin America, ANAR opened new foster homes in these countries, following the model of ANAR Spain’s homes.

ANAR becomes part of the International Forum for Child Welfare (IFCW) platform

ANAR was already present in Latin America, learning about the reality of children’s experiences around the world, and became part of the International Forum for Child Welfare Platform, to which the leading children’s charities belong. The President of ANAR became a member of the Governing Board of the IFCW and Vice-President of the European Forum for Child Welfare, learning about the first two and only children’s helplines in Europe at the time: Childline (in Britain) and the Telefono Azzurro (in Italy). The impact of the support provided by these phonelines, accessible to all children in their respective countries, proved decisive in the decision to set up the service in Spain.

Creation of the first ANAR Foster Home

ANAR was founded in 1970 with the creation of the first foster home for 5 abandoned brothers and sisters who were living in a truck. The eldest sister was aged 8, and took care of her siblings. It was such a positive experience that within two months we already had 12 children at the home. Over the following years new homes were gradually opened, making a total of 11, where more than 100 children have been fostered.