Stories, newsletters and annual reports from the team behind Quina Care.
ArticleOn Sunday 18 October the 6th edition of the Putumayo Loop takes place, and just like last year we are running with as many participants from all over the world as possible to raise money for Hospital San Miguel.
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ArticleAfter a two-month journey over sea and land, and a whole lot of paperwork and phone calls, the moment had finally come.
ArticleOnly 6 weeks until the Putumayo Loop on 18 October! Time flies, and meanwhile the sporting energy in Hulst is building more and more.
ArticleThe shipping container full of medical equipment and supplies is on its way to Ecuador. It is expected to arrive in the port of Guayaquil soon.
ArticleThe Van der Lely Foundation supports Hospital San Miguel in Ecuador's Amazon region.
ArticleWe're always looking for good equipment and supplies for Hospital San Miguel. Do you have access to any?
ArticleAs of April 2026 I am officially taking on the role of secretary. Allow me to introduce myself!
ArticleOn Sunday October 18, 2026 we run together around the world for the running costs of Hospital San Miguel. Take part, start your own hub, or help out by sharing the campaign via our own QR code.
ArticleWe're building a refreshed website: faster, searchable, and with live figures straight from Hospital San Miguel.
ArticleThe Nootdorp group of friends Nootdorp4life held their annual sponsored ride, and this year the proceeds went to Quina Care and Hospital San Miguel.
ArticleIn November, Dutch TV presenter Floortje Dessing visited Hospital San Miguel to film an episode of her program 'Floortje naar het einde van de wereld'. She spent five days capturing life in Puerto El Carmen — broadcast on Monday 26 January at 20:30 on NPO1.
ArticleAt the end of August the time had finally come. After a year full of preparations, fundraising activities and countless arrangements… I boarded the plane to Ecuador!
ArticleMy name is Dayana Botina. I am 32 years old and originally from Puerto El Carmen, in the Putumayo canton.
ArticleOn the night bus from Quito to Puerto el Carmen you see little of the surroundings. From there, you can only continue by boat.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
VlogWelcome to Hospital San Miguel — produced by Wedovoodoo.tv.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleMy name is Karen Vanessa Tamba Jurado, I am 27 years old and currently part of the nursing team at San Miguel Hospital – Quina Care Foundation.
ArticleHello, I'm Magali Maribel Chacón Aguilar. I'm 40 years old and married to Ronald Paz.
ArticleI was born on December 10, 1989. I am currently 35 years old. I come from the canton of Putumayo, in the province of Sucumbíos.
ArticleI didn't choose the easiest path, but I chose the one that allowed me to reach my goal. That's how I ended up at San Miguel Hospital.
Article“One always returns to the place where one was happy.” Ambar Katherine Pazmiño Villafuerte, receptionist Who am I? I believe I’m a very normal and ordinary person, just like most people. At this...
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleMy name is Angelo Reyes. I was born on August 7, 1996, in the city of Ibarra, Ecuador — a city known for its many lakes and beautiful nature, which make its landscapes truly unique.
ArticleMy name is Gema García. I consider myself a young, qualified nurse and my career in healthcare began in 2016, when – driven by a desire to grow – I decided to leave my beautiful coastal hometown of San Vicente to begin studying nursing at the University of Manabí (UTM).
Annual report2024 marked an important milestone: with the operating and delivery rooms the hospital became fully functioning.
ArticleMy experience as a patient taught me that I wanted to focus on healthcare, and over time, I was able to realize my dream of becoming a nurse.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleMake two porcelain houses in Everdien's studio — one for yourself and one for the Quina Yura — and support care at Hospital San Miguel with the proceeds.
ArticleHospital San Miguel's first scientific publication appears in Emerging Infectious Diseases, the journal of the US CDC.
VlogA vlog about Dr Jacob van der Ende's visit to the United States to raise the profile of Hospital San Miguel.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
VlogA vlog about the next big milestone: the operating and delivery rooms at Hospital San Miguel are now in use.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
Annual reportThe highlight of 2023 was the opening of the nursing ward at Hospital San Miguel.
ArticleA hospital in the Amazon region of Ecuador.Carolien and Jacob van der Ende, doctors Waking up in the Amazon is already a pleasure. After a night filled with the sounds of crickets, frogs, toads, and...
ArticleHello, I am Marilu Isabel Calderon Hidalgo. I am 28 years old, married to Robinson Paz, and I have two children, Valentina, who is 11 years old, and Miller, who is 8 years old.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleI am pleased to introduce myself as a new board member of the Quina Care Foundation. My name is Merlijn Hutteman, and I reside and work in Nijmegen.
ArticleA woman in her late forties sits across from me. She is a single mother, running one of the many breakfast and lunch spots in the village.
ArticleThis summer, I visited the hospital again. It had been over a year since my last visit, and there were noticeable changes.
ArticleHospital San Miguel is officially recognized as an A2CARES research site within the CREID network and launches a pilot study into affordable molecular diagnostics.
Article07.40. The front door buzzes. I quickly pick up my mug of coffee to head to the entry gate via the hospital patio, enjoying the sunlight that shines in through the adjacent trees.
VlogA vlog about a milestone: the inpatient wards of Hospital San Miguel are open.
ArticleI am Vanessa Dávila, born on October 20, 1993, in Barinas, Venezuela, in a region known for its beautiful nature, "a flat landscape with a path lined with palm trees and sun." I am the third of four siblings, and my parents, Flor and Gerardo, work as teachers.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleLet me introduce myself: I am Andrea Paola Tenorio Chamba, better known as Pao. I was born in Quito but grew up in Loja. I graduated as a general physician three years ago from the prestigious Central University of Ecuador...
ArticleIn April, I had the opportunity to visit our hospital in Puerto El Carmen again. As luck would have it, just two days after my arrival, I was able to join the team.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
Annual report2022 was the first full year that Hospital San Miguel was open — a busy and good year.
ArticleI am Baukje Zaaijer, 30 years of age and I grew up in Friesland. Together with my husband I live in beautiful Groningen! Carolien is my cousin; through her I was inspired to become a doctor.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
Article*"We all have a calling as unique as a fingerprint**. "* **Gladys Judith Mamallacta Andi, assistant nurse** We all have a calling as unique as a fingerprint, and the best way to be successful is to discover what you love and to find a way to offer that to others, by working hard and being guided by the universe's energy.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleHi, I would like to share some thoughts about my working experience at Hospital San Miguel. My name is Martha Lidia Arimuya Tanguila, born in the Putumayo canton. I currently live in the Puerto El Carmen parish, the town that was also part of my youth and adolescence...
ArticleDuring the handover at work back in The Netherlands we debated whether someone can be transferred, because the new hospital will be difficult to reach for the parents. We discuss this with 9 people for a few minutes, we weigh some options, and decide it's not in their best interest...
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleMy name is Andrea Margarita Diaz Saenz and I'm originally from the Amazon area. I've spent a substantial part of my youth and teenage years in Colombia, where I completed my primary school education...
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
Article“My first thought was: this fits me perfectly!”“My first thought was: this fits me perfectly!”Hans Wilke, medical analystIt all started with a newspaper article in the NRC, sometime in November 2020:...
ArticleThe electronic patient record keeps Hospital San Miguel paperless and anticipates the hospital's growth.
Annual reportDespite the pandemic, Quina Care reached a milestone: Hospital San Miguel opened on 7 November 2021.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleWe all have dreams, ambitions, goals and wishes which make life worth it. When we want to reach them, we have to work on that daily.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleIt has happened, the dream has come true: Hospital San Miguel has been opened and is very busy. Three months ago at eight o'clock in the morning the first patient was waiting before the big blue doors even opened.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
VlogA vlog about the staff residence with a tropical garden, so the team can live comfortably by the hospital.
VlogA vlog about why a well-functioning laboratory is vital for good diagnostics at the hospital.
ArticleI walked into the building that has been my school for 7 years. It looked different because of all the building materials and tools, the debris and construction workers, but also the stretchers in the hallway that used to locate our school rooms...
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
Annual report2020 was strongly affected by COVID-19; opening the hospital came close but was not yet feasible.
ArticleSupport Quina Care at no extra cost to you — through SponsorKliks.
ArticleMy name is Louisa Spaans, 27 years, and born in Minneapolis. My parents are Dutch and I was raised in Ecuador. After completing high school in Guayaquil I studied medicine in Maastricht...
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleEcuador has been in a lockdown for a year. Following The Netherlands after one day the borders closed on 17 March 2020. And they remain closed.
Article'We are going to establish a hospital in an empty boarding school in the Ecuadorian rainforest. Would you like to set up the ICT as you have done in Yele?' This question was raised by Carolien and Jacob on a visit in The Netherlands...
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
Article“It’s a certainty that many patients will find their way to the hospital.” Elvis David Salazar Iles, contractorWho are you, where are you from and how many kids do you have? My name is Elvis David...
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
VlogA vlog about the final stretch: the hospital is almost, almost, almost ready.
Annual reportBig steps were taken in 2019, bringing the opening of the hospital a good deal closer.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleThe countries within South-America, including Ecuador, are currently hit by the Coronavirus.
ArticleFloris is a behavioral biologist at IVN, where he lets young and old experience how fun, healthy and important nature is.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleThere are projects where all of a sudden, everything turns out perfectly. The hospital is that kind of project.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleQuina Care is growing steadily.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
VlogA vlog about a big step in the renovation: the roof comes off.
Article“The language of construction is universal”Elza Heemskerk, architectIt was last year in May that I met Jacob and Carolien on a busy bus station in Ecuador by chance. It was during my backpacking trip...
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleRenovations often evoke stories that cause slight headaches. Doorways that open the wrong way, walls that should've stayed intact are demolished and authentic murals that have already been removed.
Annual reportThe second year since the foundation was established: the hospital location became definite.
VlogA vlog with a first tour of the building that will become our hospital.
VlogA vlog about the start of the renovation: the building is being turned into a real hospital.
ArticleIt doesn't matter whether you're renovating in the Netherlands or Ecuador. Finding a good contractor is a tricky business.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
VlogA vlog about a trip to Guayaquil, Ecuador's big port city, for the hospital project.
VlogA vlog about our visit to Radio Cuyabeno, sharing the work of Quina Care in the region.
ArticleA coffee project has started in partnership with the ‘Delftse Tafelronde’ and the Delft-located coffee roaster Miss Morrison, the proceeds of which will go to Quina Care.
VlogA vlog about clearing out the old boarding school: the building that will be turned into our hospital.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
VlogA vlog about a meeting with the local community leaders — essential for a hospital built together with the community.
ArticleWe receive money from many different sources, sometimes from where you least expect it.
ArticleThe Amazon rainforest covers about half of Ecuador — a vast, inaccessible region with the world's greatest biodiversity, where living conditions are extremely tough.
ArticleEcuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a South American country on the equator on the continent's west coast — over six times the size of the Netherlands, with 17 million inhabitants.
ArticleThe Putumayo district is located in the north of the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, about the size of the province of South-Holland, bordering Colombia and Peru.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleImagine you want to (re)build a hospital. Where to start? Even if you have never worked in a hospital, it's relatively easy to make a list of what you'd need to have in place to get up and running.
ArticleIt's done. A one-year work experience in a remote area, in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. From start to finish it was impressive and useful.
VlogA vlog about working at full tilt: two doctors, double full-time, to get the hospital off the ground.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleAn impression of the patient population that visit the hospital deep down in the jungle on any typical day.
VlogA vlog about a medical brigade in the Ecuadorian Amazon, bringing care to those who live furthest from any hospital.
Annual report2017 was dedicated to setting up the Quina Care Foundation administratively and structurally.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleYou often receive the best advice from somewhere you least expect it.
ArticleLiving for a full year in one of the most remote places of the country: Nuevo Rocafuerte. No other doctor volunteers to go here.
VlogA vlog with an update on the project in the Ecuadorian Amazon: it's going very well.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.
ArticleAfter months of traveling rivers and bumpy jungle roads, a destination emerges: Puerto El Carmen de Putumayo, on the Colombian border. An account of our search for the right place to build a hospital.
VlogA vlog from the journey south through the Ecuadorian Amazon, drawing ever closer to the border region with Colombia.
ArticleOur visit to the hospital in Nuevo Rocafuerte more or less coincided with the arrival of a new doctor over there. This doctor, like his predecessor also a Spanish priest, had arrived two weeks before.
VlogA vlog about pushing as far as possible into the rainforest, to reach the people who live furthest from any care.
ArticleA rainforest full of people in need of medical care. How do you decide on one location?
ArticleThe simple fact of being registered as a doctor with the local education service is enough to acquire a visa for an indefinite period of time. No job yet? Doesn't matter. Being a doctor is enough.
VlogA vlog from the road: traveling through the Ecuadorian Amazon, well into the night, in search of the place where a hospital can make the biggest difference.
ArticleYou'll need more than a huge dose of enthusiasm if you plan to build a hospital in South America. The first obstacle is the possibility to register as a doctor.
ArticleWhat started out as a high school love,
ArticleThe Ebola crisis is over, we've left Africa behind and we're now on that other continent that badly needs medical care too: South America.
NewsletterEvery few months we send out a newsletter with updates about our work in Ecuador, the people behind the mission and the progress of our projects.