Organization

Tatiana Kalinina – President

My name is Tatiana. I am founder and president of the foundation Niños en Contacto. Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, I moved to the Netherlands for study in 2000 and  graduated from the University of Amsterdam in European Policy. During the study I got very interested in economic development, equality and poverty reduction issues. Being an idealist I always felt strongly about making world better and more humanistic. In 2007 a lucky opportunity brought me to Colombia, where I met very warm and driven people, who unfortunately had little means to improve their living conditions. Back in the Netherlands together with a couple of friends we decided to found an organization that would help disadvantaged children in very poor places in Latin America to get better education and through that a fair chance to improve their lifes. Since then the foundation became my baby.

Arjen van Loenen – Treasurer

My name is Arjen and I’m the treasurer of Niños en Contacto. I study Urban Planning at the University of Amsterdam and one of my specializations is Urban Planning for Developing Countries. Traveling is one of my biggest passions, though I’ve never been to Latin America. That doesn’t stop me from being enthusiastic about our project, because it’s a concrete way helping less fortunate children getting a better chance in life and making the world a little better.

Gabriela Quiroga – Secretary

My name is Gabriela and I am Uruguayan. I have a degree in Social Work, graduated at the Catholic University of Uruguay. I was born in Montevideo, I lived in Paris since 2006 and in 2009 I moved to Amsterdam. I have been working with farmers’ organisations for thirteen years (ten years in my country and three years in France). In the last three years and given my responsibilities in Paris, I had the opportunity to travel frequently to the Latin American continent and visit various countries, which allowed me to see the diversity within the unity that the continent represents as well as the great potential of development in the region. I joined the Foundation Niños en Contacto to maximize this potential, each one has a role to play and I found that the project of the foundation could be a concrete way to take advantage of my capacities and contribute to these achievements.

Julia Skinner – Fundraiser and Project Manager

My name is Julia Skinner and I am a Peruvian architect. My interest in development projects started when I came to study at the Institute of Housing Studies (IHS) in Rotterdam, where I did a course on Housing the Poor with a fellowship from the Dutch government. I have worked with urban and rural communities in Peru, El Salvador, Colombia and have continued doing this through different organizations in The Netherlands. The Niños en Contacto Foundation is an important part of this.

ADVISORS

The Foundation’s advisors are: Ms. Karin Stibbe, Mr. Jan Melis, Mr. Jan Beerenhout and Mr. Cees de Wit.

Jan Melis

Jan is a civil engineer, later in his career he was C.E.O. of a number of civil construction companies in developing countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. After retirement he does voluntary work: 8 years in Spain and 2 years in Brazil (supporting an orphanage).

Karin Stibbe

Karin’s expertise is in capacity building in developing countries, especially in urban development and urban design. She worked for UNCHS/UNDP, DGIS, Royal Haskoning and the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies in Indonesia and Egypt. Presently she has her own consultancy firm Atelier O2. Her aim is to conribute to poverty reduction through capacity building and community development. Therefore she is committed to the work of Niños en Contacto.

Jan Beerenhout

Jan Beerenhout is friend and advisor of the foundation. For this, he uses his many contacts as member of Rotary International. He is a very energetic and curious person. Jan has worked for more than 30 years in the municipality of Amsterdam. He was and still is involved in many social problems, like social renovation and cohesion, the fight against poverty (food aid), local politics, construction of society and integration of immigrants. He is a writer and reader, he is a columnist for a Turkish magazine and a couple of Dutch weblogs. He is also involved in the Russian community in the Netherlands and the relationships between Russia and the Netherlands. For his commitment, in 2005 he received a nomination as Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau.