Can you tell us about the Sisterhood programme – how people can get involved here?

The Sisterhood programme is my favourite thing we do at Women for Women International. I was telling you about the women who enrol in our classes – 25 women – those women are all matched with a sister in another country around the world. I have a sister, she’s called Brigitte, she’s in Rwanda, I’m hoping to meet her in July. Sponsoring a sister is £22 a month, you sign up online, and then you will be matched with a sister, sometimes it takes about a month. Then you get a letter telling you who your sister is, with a photo of her, and a bit about her life like… she has two children, she’s between 30 and 35 (sometimes women don’t know their age), and you hear about what she’s learning in the programme. Then you are encouraged to write her letters, and you can do this online and upload photos of yourself and your family if you like. You can’t imagine what this means to the women. When I travel (because I’m white and they think I’ll know other white women), they come to me and show me photos of their sisters in the UK, tucked into their bra, and say, ‘This is my sister, do you know her?’ It’s this sense of knowing there’s someone on the other side of the world who cares enough to support them and write letters to them. It’s beautiful. I’ve had wonderful relationships with sisters; you think you are giving, but you get so much back.