Family in dire distress

Dear Friends.

I know these are trying times for all of us. The devastating effects that covid19 has brought to the inhabitants of this world are beyond words can describe. I am a 35 year old male who has worked in the restaurant industry for over 14 years. Life in this industry is always unpredictable, restaurants come and go, and as they do one has to move from one job to another. The advantage was always that getting another job wasn't too hard if one restaurant went under because of the vast number of restaurants that are operating.

Covid19 has changed all that. Restaurants in South Africa have been closed for over two months now and only a few have been opened for deliver only. This will be the case for the unforeseeable future, in the mean time all the waiters, bussers, runners, bartenders and most cooks are unable to earn any income whatsoever. I have been a waiter for my entire working life and at this stage I have been brought to my knees by this pandemic. The little money that I had been able to save while I was working is now depleted and I am no longer able to pay rent and will soon run out of food.

I have not been sitting idle waiting for this to be over, I have realized that this is an opportunity for me to change careers and do something that I have always been dreaming of doing. During the time I was working I managed to purchase a few Udemy courses on Web development. I was not able to do the course work because of the crazy hours that I had to work. I am glad to say that finally I managed to finish 2 major courses during these 2 months at home. I now have skills that I can use to get employment. The challenge however is that for me to get a job as a web developer, I need to show some work experience and getting a job without work experience is nearly impossible. In order to get experience, I am currently volunteering with some non profit organizations building websites for them for free in order for me to strengthen my resume and skills.

My biggest problem is that I have run out of money to survive before I am able to find paying work. I have posted my services on most freelancing websites like fiverr, freelancer.com, but it seems like getting clients is impossible. I am appealing to anyone who is willing to assist me just to be able to pay rent and buy food until I get a job, I am desperately searching for employment and everyday I'm furiously up-skilling to increase my chances and I know that sooner than later I will find a job. Please help me to survive for just a few more weeks. If you cannot donate but you have a website that needs to be updated, or built from scratch and you are willing to assist me in that regards, it will be very much welcome.