Anak was officially established in 2002 by Jeannine Laurens and Martijn Schutte. In 1997, two students went to the Philippines for a research project to study Human Geography of Developing Countries at the University of Groningen. Since they left this beautiful country and its people, they realised the people they met were still living in extreme poverty. In 2002, Jeannine and Martijn made their informal support to the children in the Philippines official: the beginning of Anak Foundation.
In the meantime Anak has evolved towards a large reinforced team in the Netherlands and in the Philippines.