'You have some money in a savings account earning virtually no interest.You decide instead that you will invest this as a series of micro-loans which will help start-up businesses in the poorest countries. Alice in Liberia needs a loan to buy flour for her bakery. Mohammed in Palestine needs a loan to buy a hoover for his car-washing business. In that savings account earning almost no interest you have £150. Each week in Lent you commit to make a loan of £25 to a different person or community around the world. By the time Lent arrives next year each of those people has repaid your loan. All the money is all back in your account. You have earned no interest on your £150 but you helped Recho in Kenya buy a motorbike and her business selling cereals has taken off. Your Lenten discipline in 2013 was to use your resources to help transform the life of someone you will never meet...'

This is one of the ideas for Lent from a talk by Martin last Sunday. If you're interested in finding out more about this idea, check out Kiva - Loans That Change Lives.