Marina Melis

Marina is the founder and driving force of Donkey Sanctuary Bonaire. Seven days a week she cares for more than 400 donkey ‘children’ heart and soul, she is on stand-by to rescue live wild donkeys in distress and manages everything in the sanctuary.

Ed Koopman

Ed, who is Marina’s husband, made almost all the buildings in the sanctuary himself: shop, stables, water well, windmill, watch-tower and so on. He works daily on maintenance and technical jobs in the park.

Genaro Anthony

Genaro assists in all heavy and technical jobs at Donkey Sanctuary Bonaire. But above all he is a specialist in catching live wild donkeys. Thanks to his skills, many donkeys were brought in to spend the rest of their lives lovingly cared for.

Marion Jeursen

Before Marion left the Netherlands to move to Bonaire in 2007, she worked as a manager in a perfumery. Living on Bonaire, one day she found a badly injured donkey foal and called the sanctuary. Sadly this foal did not survive, but Marion was touched by our good work and started to work with us as a volunteer. She helps take care of the donkeys and welcomes visitors.

Kevin Mens

Kevin is a real animal friend. In the Netherlands he spent a lot of time at the horse riding centre. Now he is living on Bonaire, he is fond of the donkeys and comes over to help as often as possible. We are very happy with his assistance.

Brent van den Brink

Brent lives in the Netherlands, but spends most of his school holidays on Bonaire. Then he comes to help us every day. He not only assists in taking care for the donkeys, but also on the cruise market selling souvenirs. Although he is only 10 years old, he literally and figurative is a big help!

Susan Rademaker

Living in the Netherlands, Susan helps in fund-raising, communication and public relations. During a holiday on Bonaire she fell in love with the donkeys and was moved by the problems Donkey Sanctuary Bonaire faces to survive, so she decided to do her bit.