Foundation La Sonrisa Naranja is the officially (PBO certified) acknowledged Dutch NGO behind a medical center in El Barrio Horizontes del Fortin, an impoverished neighborhood in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The foundation was started in 2017 to support the work of doctors Els van der Linden and Gonzalo Bonilla.
Our goal is to provide medical care to people that normally would not be able to afford it. Starting point is that every patient receives the care he or she needs and pays according to financial capacity, as judged by our doctor. In our medical center we have a general practitioner, dentist, gynecologist, small pharmacy and medical lab. In addition to the necessary medical care, we invest in structurally improving the health conditions in the neighborhood.
The help of La Sonrisa Naranja in Gauyaquil is extremely important for the people in El Barrio Horizontes del Fortin. Although patients pay a small contribution, the center cannot deliver the necessary care without outside support. The foundation in the Netherlands therefore makes a structural monthly contribution. For separate project like the open days, improvements to the center itself or new medical equipment, we gather additional funds.
