Ibrahim Valentijn
Reef Renewal Trainee
Ibrahim Valentijn is one of the newest members of the RRFB team, but his journey with us started well before he officially joined. Born and raised on Bonaire, Ibrahim first connected with Reef Renewal during a short internship in early 2025—and quickly made a lasting impression. Now working as a part-time trainee technician while finishing high school, he’s contributing to coral restoration efforts both in the water and behind the scenes.
Ibrahim shares his story—from growing up by the sea to finding his place in coral restoration.
By Ibrahim Valentijn
My life leading up to this moment
My name is Ibrahim Valentijn, and I’m a teenage student that is born and raised on Bonaire. I grew up with a Chinese mother and Bonairian father. Growing up, I’ve always felt connected to the ocean and the life within it. My family and I would spend weekends at the beach, and that’s where my interest in the ocean grew.
I always wanted to get involved with the ocean in some way —whether that meant just exploring it or helping to protect it. At the time, snorkelling was the perfect way to experience the wonders of the underwater world.
One day, my dad and one of his best friends introduced me to diving. I at once fell in love with it, but though I never really pursued it, diving always stayed in the back of my mind. Until one day I decided to give into my curiosity and get my open water certificate. And this leads to my next topic.
“I always wanted to get involved with the ocean in some way —whether that meant just exploring it or helping to protect it. “
How I got involved
Getting involved with RRFB all started thanks to the staff at RRFB – some of the best people I’ve ever worked with. It all started one afternoon when I went to tennis with a friend. While we were waiting for the court, two RRFB staff members– Nic and Jason—showed up to play too. We talked and decided to all play together. That night, they suggested I get involved somehow with Reef Renewal Bonaire.
That always stayed in the back of my head, until one day when my school told us we had to do an internship at a company or workplace of our choice. I connected the dots and emailed Reef Renewal if I can do my internship with them. They agreed and I did my ‘baby’ internship for about a week and a half.
I loved it so much that I extended it for an extra week. After my internship ended, I was disappointed – I had just spent almost three weeks doing something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid. But things looked up when they asked me to join their team and work part-time while still going to high school!
Over 120+ students from Liseo Boneriano gathered for a deep dive into coral restoration on “Activities Day”, an event that Ibrahim helped lead.
What RRFB means to me
Reef Renewal means so much to me. It has given me a new perspective of the island I grew up on and that the ocean is the best workplace I could ask for. Every single person here has taught me something new – lessons I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.
I have learned to help nature in a unique way and incredibly effective way, and the progress we’ve made as a team is just outstanding. Through all of this, I have learned the true meaning of a “team effort”.
One of the most memorable moments for me was when we fixed the Something Special nursery. It took a lot of planning and many things had to go according to plan – but guess what, we did it! This experience, combined with many others like it, made me want to join the team even more.
Now that I work here, I get to be involved with so much more As I write this blog, for example, I’m busy analyzing a “photomosaic”, a large-scale photo of one of our restoration sites, on a software called Taglab. I split my time between the office and the field, but I also work on the field, helping make plugs or help setting things up for future projects.
I can’t wait to experience so much more, like coral spawning – which looks just so magnificent to be a part of and help with as well!
For now, I want to say just how grateful I am to have the opportunity to be a part of this amazing team and help influence our beautiful ocean—right here on the island known for its natural beauty, especially underwater.
I’m excited to see what the future holds and hopefully I can continue this professional journey far into my career!
“Working with RRFB has given me a new perspective of the island I grew up on.”
