A family for the most vulnerable: FARA founder Jane Nicholson on 30 years in Romania and what matters in the foundation’s work

For the past three decades, FARA Foundation has worked with the vulnerable and disadvantaged in Romania, children, youth but also adults, aiming to offer "a family for those without" and care alternatives to the institutions of the state. As the foundation is celebrating its 30th anniversary, British Jane Nicholson, its founder, spoke to Romania-insider.com about how FARA has developed so far and what it plans to do next, how the pandemic impacted its activity, and what matters most in the charity's work.

Jane Nicholson never expected she would set up a charity in Romania. A trained nurse who headed a large healthcare charity in UK and Central and Eastern Europe, she was used to establishing centers and hospices. No stranger to the post-Communist world, she worked in Albania, Macedonia, and Poland. She arrived in Romania in 1991 wanting to help after seeing the images of children in local institutions shown around the world. When she was asked to come to Romania with a group of volunteers who were delivering aid, she did not hesitate and decided to go work directly in the institutions.