Described as a cross between Florence Nightingale and Indiana Jones, Linda Cruse is the ultimate humanitarian aid worker and author intent on changing the world forever.
In 1996, Linda, a stressed-out mum working in a job she hated, was driving along a motorway in the middle of the night when she suffered temporary blindness. This terrifying episode led to a blinding insight: what is the point of living if life has no point? Determined to make a difference, Linda started a new life. This was the start of a scary, lonely, but always emotionally fulfilling job: teaching skills and bringing aid – and, above all, love – to war-torn refugees, the poverty-stricken and the victims of disaster.
Linda has fused her passion for adventure, an explorer’s spirit, and a deep desire to make a difference to remote communities. To enable her to do this she has launched a unique concept, aptly named Be The Change. Her trademark is her ability to broker powerful partnerships between large businesses who want to help stricken communities but do not know how to go about it, and local charities.
Fired by her determination and ethos of “A Hand Up Not A Hand Out”, she takes very small groups of highly successful individuals – typically senior executives in global corporations, successful entrepreneurs – to some of the remotest parts of the world where communities struggle to either overcome natural, or man-made disasters, or to make the most of their existing resources. Her style is maverick, and she has brought impressive changes to the communities in which she works. She has a natural ability to generate enthusiasm for her project and bring together people from completely different backgrounds to work together towards a common goal.
