From Survivor to Provider: Martin’s Story of Enough
For Martin Nsengiguma, the hardest part of farming wasn’t the long hours in the sun; it was the shame of going to buy food from the markets he was meant to be supplying to. A farmer who could barely grow enough so his children could eat; Martin carried a quiet weight that no parent wants to bear. Farming was supposed to sustain his family, yet it left them dependent, barely getting by, season after season.
His fields yielded little, and no matter how hard he tried, the numbers never increased. Sometimes a plot gave just 17 kilograms (kg) of beans, hardly enough to fill the sacks, let alone the pantry. The land provided, but never in the measure that a provider demanded.
Then came Walisha with training that shifted everything. For the first time, Martin was shown how to plant in rows, how to space his seeds so each one had room to grow, and how to use fertiliser to bring his soil back to life. Walisha didn’t just provide inputs; they provided understanding. Walisha gave him seeds and fertiliser but more importantly, they gave him knowledge. “…we farmed like people without knowledge” Martin recaps the dark days before the shift.
His sincere appreciation for the knowledge he received is palpable; the same field that once gave him 17kg harvest now produced 93kg and harvests of 100kg became 200kg or more. Success once meant a handful; now it means sackfuls. For the first time in years, feed his family, fill his store, and still have some to sell. The walk to the market was no longer one of shame to buy food; it was with pride to sell.
With the income, life began to take on a different rhythm which Martin describes as a “decent direction in life”. He no longer buys meals from the market, he feeds his family from his own soil. Now, his family eats well with satisfaction and with assurance. School fees that once felt impossible are now paid with confidence; he’s even thinking as far as university for them. His children’s future now feels less like a dream and more like a promise. And Martin himself speaks with a new kind of pride, the pride of a good provider.
And still, his dreams keep getting bigger; to buy new land to expand his farm and buy livestock that will produce enough organic fertiliser for his crops. He wants to create a legacy of stability; one where his children grow up knowing that their father’s land is a reliable source of provision for generations.
Martin’s story is proof: dignity begins with enough. There are many more farmers like Martin hoping for their chance to reclaim that same dignity.
Adopt a farmer today. With less than $10, you can lift another smallholder farmers like Martin up from one level to another, giving them too a decent direction for their lives and their families.
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