Meet Our Team
We are a group of committed individuals who see an urgent need to help Guinea-Bissau and wanted to use our skills and network to bring change to the country.
Board of Directors
Matt
Matt has worked in IT for over 30 years and for the last 10 has been running his own successful IT consultancy business in London. He has taken part in a number of high profile environmental campaigns at both a national and local level and in recent years has completed two non-stop 100km walks to raise money for charity.
Linda
Linda has taught and trained teachers for over 35 years in the UK, Brazil and Japan. She has presented at many conferences in Europe, Pakistan and Africa, mainly about global issues in teaching from her Easier English wiki New Internationalist. She has also trained teachers in refugee camps, written diverse teaching materials, and, since 2018, been working with many teachers in West Africa, especially Guinea Bissau, remotely and in person.
Michelle
Michelle has a Masters in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and has taught programming in England, Scotland and Australia. She works in software engineering in banking in London, has volunteered in Sao Tome e Principe and has previously run 2 marathons to fundraise for charity. In 2024 she was made Government Advisor of AI to the Ministry of Education in Guinea-Bissau.
Action Guinea Bissau was founded in 2020 by 5 co-founders Matt Palmer, Linda Ruas, Michelle Ruas, Ali Djau and Bacar Djau.
Project Managers in Guinea-Bissau
Moisés N. da Silva
I am a portuguese and English teacher and faculty of law student. I am the founder, coordinator and trainer of the leadership school.
I really want to continue doing my best in order to convince my generation that it is possible to change our nation and preparing the young guys in the leadership field and pushing them to love the country by doing whatever they can within their community in order to help others.
Daniel Aristides Gomes
I am a English Teacher in Guinea Bissau, I am teaching in a small village called ponta vicente in Biombo region.
My big passion is to spread English language all around Guinea Bissau and support young people on how they can grow up as good students and future leaders of our country, for this I've been doing all my effort to show them that to be a good leader you should be well educated.
Reinaldo Alfredo Natcha
I am Reinaldo Alfredo Natcha. Teacher of English as Second Language and Philosophy. A founder of Cooperativa Escolar Martin Luther king Jr.
Currently work for SOS Children's Villages (a charity organisation) who works to development of the communities and to strengthen families.
AGB Project Managers also include: Inácia, Domingos and Wilson
UK Volunteers
Ciara
My name is Ciara and I have recently graduated from Royal Holloway with a bachelor degree in Psychology. I am currently living in Paris where I am working as an Au Pair and studying French. I have experience working with a non-profit organisation after spending three monhts in the summer of 2019 working at the YMCA Camp Algonquin in Michigan. My role for Action Guinea Bissau involves curating projects to combat Gender-Inequality.
Other volunteers include:
Dorota, Martin, Nick, Luke
Emma
Emma has a degree in Creative & Professional Writing, alongside a recent certification in Digital Marketing. Having gained multiple skills across different roles from Project Support in IT & Data to Copywriter roles, her passion lies within Social Media and Marketing. Residing in South Devon, she enjoys being creative and developing new ways to engage audiences across a variety of platforms.