Family

JEFF'S FAMILY

Jeff and Els live in a small home in McKinleyville Ca, with their two cats. The sea sings them to sleep at night.

Els (Cornelia)

Jeff and Els got married on February 4th, 1989, and have been together for 36 years.

Els was born and raised in the Netherlands, speaks four languages and is a fabric artist and poet. The couple met in Amsterdam in 1987. She works as an aide to students with intellectual disabilities at Arcata High School. Els never gave up on Jeff and is his hero.

Matt (Matthew)

Matt was born in Hoorn, the Netherlands on March 28, 1990. Raised in Niger, Matt has a love for Africa that he has never lost. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, Matt lives in Arcata and was a strong support for Jeff’s family when he was a hostage. He currently works in a local agricultural company in Humboldt County.

Bob (Robert)

Bob was born on October 17, 1991 in Arcata Ca. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in geography at U.C. Davis in California.  He was raised in West Africa, and returned to work in Mali and Benin with the Peace Corps. His dissertation is based on a project he initiated in Senegal, working to economically empower nomadic women.

Tim

Tim was born in the Netherlands on October 6, 1978. He left Niger in 1997 to study at Humboldt State University in Arcata Ca, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy, and later a Masters in that same subject at San Francisco State. Tim lives in Eureka, with his two children where he teaches philosophy at College of the Redwoods and elsewhere.

David

David was born in the Netherlands on September 16, 1973. He moved back to Holland from Niger in 1992, and finished his schooling there. He lives in Enkhuizen, where he also works as an engineer in a plastics company. David loves boats and lives on one in the picturesque Enkhuizen harbor.