In 1996, Linda Cruse, a stressed-out single 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 living has no point?

Determined to make a difference, Linda began 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 travelled from crisis to crisis wherever she was most needed, visiting 16 countries in 12 years with just one suitcase. In Thailand, after the 2004 tsunami, she developed what was to be her trademark skill: the ability to broker powerful partnerships between large businesses (wanting to offer help in poverty-stricken communities but not always knowing the best way) and local charities (NGOs). This has brought praise from spiritual, commercial, and political leaders all over the world. Linda also helped individual families to battle their feelings of hopelessness and to find new livelihoods. Her work is inspired by the idea of giving "hand-ups" rather than "handouts".