Everyone is talking about the 'credit crunch'. Patrick Hynes, from Oikocredit, reflects on how access to fair finance continues to be a problem for people who are poor, and proposes a simple solution.

It's too easy too blame the vulnerable for the failings of public services and the economy, says Savi Hensman. We need a new culture, and both faith groups and secular ones like trades unions can contribute.

On the southern slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, a small bank owned by 330,000 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania's Northern District is improving the lives of poor people, while still managing to make a profit.