Founder of ZAASO

Founder of Zaaso
~ Johanna Maria van den Berg ~

„ I came to Zanzibar in 2003 – with the dream of a life in paradise, near to the beautiful Indian Ocean with the best beaches all around. What I found was mainly a bit different – huge mishandling and mistreatment of animals, overloaded cows & donkeys and lots of suffering animals. In the same year, someone poisoned my beloved dog, Simon. My heart was broken. And from day to day to see the overloaded animals on the road I got the strong wish to do something to change their life forever. I helped an injured donkey on the road and came the day later to look after him – that was the point where I made the decision to build something up to help and save as many animals as I can in Zanzibar and so far I am still doing it more than 10 years later.“

Co-Founder of Zaaso
~ Waltraud A. Milani ~

„I fell in love with this island some years ago. I came to Zanzibar looking for a place to make a difference. I wanted to rescue animals and be active in the matter of the environment. After searching around the world I found Zanzibar. Still, on the airplane, I was fortunate to be given the information about Anna, the founder of Zaaso. I decided to build my second home on this beautiful Island and work together with Zaaso, a home for a lot of animals in need, doesn´t matter if cat, duck, dog or donkey. It´s a wonderful project and a huge help for Zanzibar´s animals in need. They deserve a better life with the right treatment, love, and food – for this, I try to help as much as I can.“

~ In a world where you can be anything, be kind ~