Julius Gustaaf Arnout Koenders

Julius Gustaaf Arnout Koenders (1 March 1886 – 17 November 1957) was a Surinamese teacher and fervent activist for Sranan Tongo. As a teacher, he was forced to use the Dutch language thus denying the children their own language.

Writer In 1943, the women's organisation Pohama asked Koenders to help them. Pohama organised cultural evenings in theatre Thalia in Paramaribo, and was known for their 1 July event to remember the emancipation of slavery in Suriname. Koenders wrote his first publication for them called Foe memre wi afo [In memory of our forefathers] about the Creole language, and went to write much more for the organisation.

Koenders also wrote articles in Dutch about education in De schakel tussen school en huis (The bridge between school and home) using the pseudonym Kris Kras. The magazine was published every two weeks and was bundled with Dagblad Suriname.

Foetoe-boi Foetoe-boi was a monthly periodical he published with the association Pohama from May 1946 to April 1956, and was the editor responsible for it, though other authors were involved. It was published in both Sranan Tongo and Dutch, with many articles based on his own ideals. The cultural association Wie Eegie Sanie which was founded in 1951 by Eddy Bruma would continue Koenders' pioneering work after Foetoe-boi stopped.