Rwanda is organised into parishes just like Worcestershire. This is a legacy of the Belgian colonial administration and over 80% of the population are practicing Catholics.

I visited the parish of Nyamirambo in the diocese of Kigali with a microfinance charity.

This March the parish started a cooperative savings scheme, rather like a credit union. There are 30 members, including a President and 4 committee members. Each member puts in 10 pence a month for the Social Fund. Then they save between 50 pence and £1 each into a saving pot. When I say pot, I mean a plastic pot - a blue one for the Social Fund and a pink one for the Savings. Once the overall total is counted, members of the group can apply for short term loans. Like on the TV programme "Dragon's Den", each member rises and makes the case for borrowing some money. Examples are borrowing for seeds and fertiliser, or a new manioc plant. The interest rate on these tiny loans is 10% a month. This sounds like a very high rate, but it makes the maths easier and the interest goes back into the pool. People can also apply for money from the social fund for medicines or school books. These loans are interest free. Each month, more money will be added, and the repayments will be made, gradually increasing the parish's savings pool. At the end of the year, the grand total is shared equally between all 30 members.

The parish has about 100 residents. There's a small school with two teachers, a church hall and a playground. There is no running water, no electricity and it is a mile or so to the nearest health clinic. I explained that I lived in a small village in Worcestershire and they wanted to know if we could set up a "twinning" system with their parish, so that we could send a contribution that would help them work their way out of the extreme poverty that they currently experience. A huge contribution would be something like a chicken or a goat, or help with secondary school fees (the first nin years of school are now free in Rwanda).