WHO WE ARE
Our story
- Mission
- Vison
- Values
Our mission at YANA is to provide social services for vulnerable children, youth and families, as well as victims of domestic violence who cross our doorstep. We are an NGO with the objective of helping these people stay in their home environment and offer them the educational support and social and psychological assistance they need, improving their quality of life and increasing their autonomy. We are committed to creating strong partnerships with public and private sector organizations to expand impact and active engagement in our community.
Our vision is to help grow healthy and resilient communities.
The core values of our NGO are performance, the growth of charity through our work and the inspiration and positive influence on the communities in which we are active. We focus on direct impact in our communities, but we also recognize that our actions inspire and positively influence other people and organizations beyond the direct boundaries of our actions.
At YANA, our commitment to the community is a daily promise that we always seek to honor with devotion. We have a clear mission: to work with people belonging to vulnerable social groups to improve their quality of life and increase their autonomy, acting as a priority to keep them in their environment.
Founded in 1996 by Antonia Frick, after an impressive 23 years of experience in managing the “Familienhilfe Liechtenstein” family aid program, she has dedicated herself to supporting children, families and other social categories in vulnerable situations, in Romania.
Through our Daycare centers for children, we have assumed the responsibility of responding to urgent needs of children from families in difficulty in Bacău county, in the rural environment. These families face difficult situations, such as the absence of one or both parents due to death, migration, detention or divorce. Also, many of the children come from families with a history of family and school abandonment, illiteracy, chronically ill parents or poor financial status. Abuse and domestic violence are other difficult realities that children in our Daycare centers face on a daily basis.
Currently, we accompany more than 100 children daily in their training and development, offering them services aimed at improving the quality of their life and giving them opportunities for a better future through education. We also provide parents with resources and support to strengthen family bonds and create a healthy and safe family environment.
Our close partnerships with local governments, area schools and other non-governmental organizations enable us to provide these essential services and create a positive impact in the communities where we are present.
Antonia Frick recently handed over the leadership position to Anna Maria D'Hulster, who is determined to continue a lifetime's work and shape YANA's future in a positive way.
"I always felt how grateful our families are, how grateful our parents are. And when you see the success of the children, who are already professionally active and get new jobs, that's a huge motivation. That's what motivated me the whole time!"
Antonia Frick, Founder of YANA
How YANA was formed
In 1995, Antonia Frick, president for over 23 years of the family aid program “Familienhilfe Liechtenstein”, traveled to Romania and was deeply impressed by the needs of families and vulnerable social categories. With the firm desire to support these communities, she began to carry out her work by identifying and selecting collaborators in the specialized university environment in Bucharest.
Through the first strategic investments and the provision of scholarships to social work students, Antonia Frick contributed to the initial development of essential social programmes, pioneered by some of these students in various areas of the country.
In 1997, the first social projects were established in Bucharest and Bacău, in collaboration with Romanian specialists. This initiative led to the formation of the New Bucharest Foundation, at a time when many families were at risk of eviction due to maintenance debts or poverty, caused by unemployment or illness.
Through the help provided, which included financial help to pay for maintenance, emergency repairs, medicine or surgery, as well as basic food, clothing and school supplies, hundreds of families in Bucharest and Bacău, affected by fundamental shortages, were supported throughout several years.
In a recent interview, Antonia Frick explains the reasons why she chose Romania and her experiences from the years spent with these communities, illustrating her deep commitment to supporting those in need.