Firstly I want to thank you for being here and just for taking time out to read the circumstances that have lead me to write this page for financial help. I never imagined I would be doing this as I’ve always been financially independent and I have thought very long and hard about whether I could even put this out there so please bear with me and I will attempt to explain why I’m here now.

I’ve had a good professional career in fashion textiles. I have a small group of friends who mean a lot to me because I’m an only child with no extended family to lean on, a father with dementia and I lost my mother to cancer. I also suffered a near fatal brain aneurysm which wiped out all my savings. Not long ago I uprooted my whole life for a job opportunity that I thought would be amazing and relocated from UK to Sydney. The company that employed me were on the brink of administration after a take over bid fell through just as I started my new job and within 5 weeks of arrival I found myself jobless, to the disbelief of everyone including myself and among many others who were also made redundant. I was completely devastated and in shock. The stress and anxiety of being alone in the situation made me physically unwell and I was in and out of the hospital.  I had already shipped my furniture and personal belongings so by the time the container arrived in Sydney Port I didn’t have any forwarding address for it to go because the company had terminated my employment and therefore I was not entitled to remain in the country without a valid residence visa. Without employment the container had to remain in storage. The worst part was that one hour before being told I had lost my job, I had just signed a rental contract on a lovely apartment I had found. As a result of signing the paperwork I had to forfeit 6 months rent to the landlord.

I had to return to the UK jobless, having lost a lot of money with my container stuck in storage in Sydney which I have had to continue to pay for and although I own a home in UK, I didn’t want my father to have to go in to a dementia care home so I arranged for him to live there with a live in carer even though it meant I was homeless.  Since I had no job and no income and shattered confidence I decided to join a house sitting website as a sitter and before long was doing house sitting looking after people’s homes and pets. House sitting is unpaid in exchange for free accommodation which helped me to keep my living costs very low and I have been incredibly grateful for the opportunities that have come my way. I have met some lovely people and I love animals.

Gradually I was able to regain my health and fitness and build my confidence. After re thinking my next move I began to apply for jobs again but found that after my experience, the idea of applying for the type of jobs in the type of companies I had worked for previously filled me with anxiety & dread. With hindsight I think I had PTSD. I started to use my skills to help Social Enterprise businesses which I found a great way to give back and this lead to meeting a business man who asked if I would be interested in getting involved in setting up industrial hemp industries in Africa to help support poor countries, communities, farmers. Once I realised the huge environment and sustainable benefits of hemp and also it’s potential to become an alternative material in fashion textiles I began to research in depth the whole end to end supply chain process, products and markets. 18 months later, It is my greatest aspiration to create an international clothing brand made from hemp and in the process create a supply chain that would benefit so many other businesses and people across countries using my connections and resources from my professional career.

Through this journey I have re discovered a passion project that I dearly want to turn in to a successful business and I work towards realising that every single day with positive mental attitude even throughout this unprecedented and difficult year of loss with the pandemic. I am now at a point where my personal funds in my bank account are worryingly low. I am proud to say that I do not have debts in the form of loans and credit cards but I am also fearful that I cannot make payments on the storage container still sitting in Sydney which currently I cannot afford to ship either. My current life is still moving from one person’s home to another house sitting because I can’t afford to rent anywhere. I have been interviewing for jobs getting to 2nd interview stage only to be told the job is now on hold due to Covid limitations which is very disheartening but I won’t give up I have continued applying but don’t expect anything to happen now in the month of December ’20 when many countries are still experiencing some form of lock down or restrictions.

It’s my hope that reading this can convey to you I am very grateful for all I have currently while working towards my goals and aspirations but every day I practice mediation to keep fear of running out of money from blocking my potential to work on my business projects which will not just be for my own benefit but for so many others.

I am a genuine professional going through a period of financial insecurity. Would you consider helping me just so that I can keep going until I secure a full time career job which will enable me to continue my work to develop the hemp industry and communities in Africa and other countries.

Thank you so much for reading,  please stay safe and well .

https://paypal.me/peaceandgratitude