Andrés counts himself lucky: his own family and friends in the small South American country are safe. More than 300 people lost their lives in the earthquake, over 25,000 people were injured - and these figures are still rising. “The families of some friends have been affected. I am in contact with them as much as possible to hear how the situation is there.”

The first-year Master's student of Innovation Management was himself born and raised in Quito, the capital of Ecuador - a relatively safe 173 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake that had a force of 7.8 on the Richter scale. “But even at that distance my family and friends could feel the quake and there was some damage - but nothing compared with what happened to the villages and cities closer by. It's terrible to see how entire cities have been devastated.”

A few days after the quake people are still being rescued from the rubble and ruins left behind. But hopes of finding yet more survivors diminish by the hour, Andrés realizes. Above all, organizations like the Red Cross and Unicef are doing all they can, he says, to start providing survivors with the basic essentials: water, medical supplies and food, and medicines to fight diseases, such as the Zika virus that is spread by mosquitoes.

The 28-year-old Ecuadorian has been in the Netherlands since last August. From Eindhoven, more than nine thousand kilometers from his homeland, he admits there is little he can do to offer immediate help. “But what I can do is try to make those around me aware of what they can do. For example, there are all kinds of channels, supported by the Ecuadorian Red Cross, via which his fellow students can make a contribution. Really, every little bit helps the people there to rebuild their lives.”