A TIRELESS flood campaigner from Worcester has been celebrated as a Big Issue Changemaker.
Mary Long-Dhonau, better known as ‘Flood Mary’, has been offering advice to victims of flooding for the past 25 years after a flood devastated her Worcester home.
And now she has been celebrated in a list of notable activists, agitators and grassroots figureheads making an impact on society in 2025, as chosen by readers of the Big Issue.
River Severn flooding in 2000 saw Long-Dhonau’s Victorian semi in Worcester submerged in flood water contaminated by raw sewage. The deeply traumatic event motivated her to raise awareness of flood risk and help other victims prepare and recover.
Ms Long-Dhonau’s website Flood Mary offers information on how to cope with a flood. She also visits communities that have been badly affected in what she calls her ‘floodmobile’ – a house on wheels packed with around 50 different property flood resilience measures, which can be hired to take into communities at risk.
She said: “When I was flooded, there was no help, no support, advice available for anybody. So from that moment, I started researching all about property, flood resilience products and what you can do to your home to help it recover after a flood. The fact that I can help people and give people hope is my drive.”
Ms Long-Dhonau and 99 fellow “Changemakers” are celebrated in a special edition of the Big Issue.
Other Changemakers include Maya Amangeldiyeva, who continued to run her life-changing food bank in Herne Bay after a terrifying assault and attempted arson attack; Blue Spirit Sailing, which takes young people experiencing a mental health challenge in the North East sailing; Aneysha Minocha, the inventor striving to decarbonise buildings across the world; and refugee football team Fair Shot FC.
Paul McNamee, editor of the Big Issue, added: “Against the backdrop of a madder, more divisive world, 2025’s Big Issue Changemakers stand out for their selfless pursuit of justice and kindness for others.”
