Who Are We? A Story, a Dream, and Many Hearts Beating as One

Fundación Anepal was not born from a large organization. It was born from love, conviction, and personal dedication.

I am Cristina Martí Roca, a law graduate, daughter of José and Amparo, who raised me with love and under the protection of a traditional family. I am the mother of three children: Max, Anju, and Eduardito. I am the founder of this project, into which I have poured my soul, my resources, and my work so that children without families in Nepal can grow up in a safe environment, full of opportunity and hope.

It all began the day I adopted my daughter Anju from an orphanage in Nepal. It was 2006. That day I discovered a reality that broke my heart: Nepalese law expressly prohibited the adoption of biological siblings and of children over the age of six. It meant that many little ones, on reaching that age, were left with no possibility of having a family. Many were separated from their brothers and sisters, with no one to guarantee their future or offer them true and constant love.

I understood then that although I was officially adopting one daughter, in my heart I was also keeping every child who lived there. I could not look away. I could not leave them behind.

That is how this project was born: as a response to the gift life had given me, and out of the deepest conviction that every child deserves a real opportunity.

In the beginning, I was not alone. For a time I had the support of people with whom I shared dreams and projects. I prefer to keep the good memories and the positive parts of that period. But over time, difficult moments came: the separation from my partner brought with it an emotional and organizational separation from the foundation, and with it the loss of many sponsors, which badly shook the project's stability.

Added to this was one of the hardest periods of my life. My daughter was going through a serious illness, and I spent a great deal of time in hospitals. I remember writing in the dark, in a hospital room, the Christmas cards for the sponsors, because I felt I could not fail. If I stopped, or gave in to the pain, the project would be lost and the children in Nepal would be left with nothing. And as if things could not get worse, the entire world suddenly stopped with the arrival of the pandemic. Those were days, weeks, and months when everything seemed too big, too difficult.

It would have been easy to give up. But I didn't.

Because behind every effort was a promise: never to abandon the children who depended on this foundation. And so, even when I lost support and the project was shaking, I kept going, with the backing of a few friends and volunteers who believed in me and in this dream.

I was always more comfortable staying behind someone else who served as the public face of the foundation. But there came a time when I understood I had no choice: I had to step forward and show the truth. I was the one who wrote, who organized, who quietly sustained every promise, who cared for every small detail, and who loved this project from the deepest part of my heart.

Today, despite every adversity, Fundación Anepal is still alive, still strong, and with an even firmer purpose. Seeing our children grow, study, laugh, and build their future in a dignified environment is the greatest proof that effort, love, and faith in others can transform lives.

This foundation is my struggle, my dedication, my learning. But above all, it is hope made into a home for many children who can now dream.