I believe we can develop our country without the destruction of nature
– Christio Wijnhard
Christio Wijnhard is a journalist and columnist known from his Monsieur Jeanette column in Suriname’s newspaper De Ware Tijd, and his monthly columns in European magazine DreamzWorld. Next to this, Christio is the host of the Busi Taki web series.
Christio was born in Suriname, but raised in the Netherlands. Since 2013 he moved back to Suriname to live in Paramaribo. It was a conscious choice for him to return and experience Suriname as an adult, learn and support the development of this young nation. He therefore started working with young adults, as they represent the country’s future.
In Suriname, he rediscovered the innate power of nature. Christio realized that the only constant in life is nature, provided that we do our part to take care of it. He was triggered by this thought: How would our young people live when their natural habitat is gone?
That is why Christio concentrates on increasing awareness on the value and importance of nature for everybody… here and abroad. He strongly believes that when we take care of nature, nature will take care of us.
Christio joined the Green Growth Champions program from the Green Growth Suriname Foundation in 2020; and is the host of the FOREST93 spin-off web series called Busi Taki. In this series, he researches concepts around nature and nature’s impact on daily lives. In his search for information, he regularly experiences that the (scientific) knowledge he finds today is similar to the stories his indigenous grandparents have always shared with him as a child.
Christio is a social organizer. He loves working with vulnerable groups and children. Under the Forest93 program he spearheaded the Tiny Food Gardens for Childrens program, coordinated the climate action awareness program with the Plastic Footprint Change Agents together with UNICEF, and established Suriname’s first Food Forest. He is an avid writer and is always keen to share his knowledge on the integration of men and nature.
Find Christio on his LinkedIn, Facebook or follow his ‘Monsieur Jeannette’ columns in De Ware Tijd.