Meet George

George and his wife are raising four children at their home in Biwi village. In 2018, the year before they enrolled in the farming program, their family eared $55. In 2019, they earned approximately $200 from sales from their soybean and groundnut farm. When asked about the impact of their participation in the Program, George said, “Our harvest let us buy food and clothing for the children. We have learned a lot through the coaching about caring for our children, and also about how to save. We have learned how to best prioritize the children’s needs first. We plan to rent land next year for the first time. We did not know before about double planting and using inoculant (fertilizer) for seeds. Compared to last year, we have much more income—we have never seen this amount in one year before. We paid for school exams for our children, and we also bought food and saved money for next year’s farming inputs. We saved money in the village savings & loan group that we set up through the program. As we grow in this program, we want to focus on our children, like by paying school fees and buying clothes. This program is all about children. We would love to start a new livestock business for more income throughout the whole year—we are focused on that. We have learned so much about savings, about borrowing and investing in new businesses, no matter what they are.”