Help Elizabeth Nyuma Replace Stolen Farm Tools

On Christmas, the day after her birthday, Elizabeth Nyuma of Plant It Forward Farms went to her family's farm to check on her crops. She discovered that her locked tool shed had been broken into and that the tools, irrigation supplies, fertilizer, and potting soil had all been taken. Elizabeth and her daughters were at a loss and have been unsure of how to move forward. They don't have the resources to replace the tools that they purchased over the course of 2 years of careful saving.
She worked with Plant It Forward to file a police report, but so far her tools have not been recovered. While she was able to borrow some equipment from Blossom Heights and PIF, she has been working for the past month without some of the essential tools she needs for her farming operation. We want to help her replace the things that were lost and set Elizabeth up for success this growing season. 

After some discussion with other farmers in the area, including Tommy of Finca Tres Robles, we decided that this would be an opportunity to not only raise money to replace what was lost, but to offer to raise money for the things Elizabeth and her daughters need most to grow the business, but hasn't been able to purchase yet. This way, we can help them end up in a better place than they were before the theft. And moving forward they will be partnering with Blossom Heights, whose property the farm is on, to keep the tools in a safer place on the property.

Elizabeth and her daughters, Mabel and Oretha feel encouraged and hopeful that others care about their farming efforts and want them to succeed. Consider chipping in to make bouncing back from this setback easier for Elizabeth and her daughters. Since she has already been without these tools for a month, we are trying to have the funds for her by March 2, 2020 so she can move forward with her crop plan for the year and get the farm back on track. Thank you for your support and commitment to helping our local urban farmers succeed!

We will be giving all the funds received to Elizabeth and her daughters to purchase the following tools. If you have any of the following tools and would like to donate them,  please send us a message through GoFundME and we'll connect you with Elizabeth.
Stolen Items
1. Chapin backpack sprayer, 4-gallon ($80)
2. Tacklife trowel, transplant trowel, and hand rake ($17)
3. Mattock, 5lb ($25)
4. Mantis XP Extra-Wide 4-Cycle Tiller/Cultivator 7566 ($640)
5.  Plastic Yard Cart, 7.5 cubic ft. ($140)
6. Utility knife ($30)
7. Edward Tools Hoe and Cultivator Hand Tiller ($20)
8. Clear plastic box ($10)
9. Plastic storage bin, 27 Gallon ($12)
10. Various Drip tape irrigation fittings from ATS Irrigation ($100)
11. pest control (Bt powder), 1 pound ($25)
12. Jolly Gardener Pro Line Potting Soil 2.8 cubic yard ($20)
13. Microlife Liquid Seaweed 1 gallon ($68)

Wish List Items
1. Jang JP 5 row push seeder ($1,545)
2. Collinear hoe head 3.75 mutineer hoe accessory ($23.89)
3. Mono ridger ($139)
4. spring hoe -3.5" ($139)
5. Cobrahead long-handled weeder and cultivator ($59.95)
6. Manual leek planter ($289)

All of these items together, with sales tax will be $3,662

I know if we all chip in together we can raise this amount and it will make an extraordinary difference in Elizabeth's life and business.  Please consider donating even $5 to help Elizabeth get back to work growing delicious, local, food for Houston!

All funds raised will be distributed directly to Elizabeth's daughter, Oretha Nyuma, so that they can replace all of the tools for the farm.
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My name is Amy Scott, and I'm organizing this campaign. I got to know Elizabeth and her family last year when I highlighted her for my farmer photodocumentary The Hands That Feed Houston.  I grew to respect and care for Elizabeth and her family a great deal during the time that I spent with her, and want to do whatever possible to help make sure that her farm business is a success. 

Elizabeth and her daughters have been a part of the Plant It Forward farmer training program for 2 years now and it is her primary source of income to support herself and her family members, both here and back in Liberia.

Elizabeth and two of her daughters, Oretha and Mabel, are originally from Lofa Kante, Liberia. During the Second Liberian Civil War (1999 – 2003) her parents were killed and she fled with her children to a refugee camp in neighboring Sierra Leone. After five years in the camp, they were fortunate enough to be cleared for resettlement in Houston. Elizabeth speaks English and Kissi fluently. She wasn’t able to complete schooling but went straight into business and farming as a teenager. Growing food for subsistence and income has been a lifelong occupation for Elizabeth and it has sustained her family both in the refugee camp and here in Houston. Elizabeth prides herself on her self-sufficiency — as a farmer, she doesn’t want nor need to buy food from another person! She loves the warm Houston weather and the feeling of security she and her family have found here. Elizabeth and her daughters run the PIFF farm at Blossom Heights Child Development Center in the Mahatma Gandhi District.