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Back on our feet: Emilia and a teenage son and a daughter in primary school in London

A single father in London needs help with childcare, groceries and rent while Emilia retrains.

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Emilia E. Holmes
Email verified
London
After the death of my husband in September, I'm now raising a teenage son and a daughter in primary school on my own. I work as a cleaner, but my income doesn't cover rent, childcare and groceries. I'm retraining as an electrician in the evenings, which will triple my income by December, but I need to bridge the gap until then. Some weeks I skip meals so my children can eat. I have never asked anyone for help like this before, and I'm doing it for them. Once I finish my course, I'll pay it forward. Every cent is accounted for. I'll share a simple monthly breakdown. Where the $3,900 goes: • Rent top-up: $2,000 • Childcare and after-school care: $950 • Groceries and school meals: $550 • Course fees and exam costs: $400 I'll pay this kindness forward the moment I'm able to.

Updates from Emilia

  1. Quick update: $578 raised so far (15%). we've started the first stage. Receipts coming as soon as I have them.

  • Gita Kamala Tamang 🇳🇵 · $10
  • Alamin Rashed Mia 🇮🇳 · $75
  • Lorenzo H. Ávila 🇲🇽 · $50

    “Blessings. Thought of Emilia all day after reading this. - Celaya”

  • Alexander H. Carlson 🇬🇧 · $75
  • Myra Sachdeva 🇮🇳 · $50
  • Veronika Yana Vasiliev 🇷🇺 · $20
  • Caoimhe M. O'Callaghan 🇮🇪 · $100

    “Take care of yourselves. Gave what I could this week. - Cork”

  • Natalie R. Greene 🇺🇸 · $50
  • Alka D. Arora 🇮🇳 · $5
  • Miguel D. Urbina 🇦🇷 · $25
  • Anonymous 🇮🇳 · $26

    “Every little bit. My sister told me about this one. - Mangaluru”

  • Nasrin Tithi Mahmud 🇮🇳 · $25
  • Anonymous 🇵🇭 · $100
  • Putri Maya Nugroho 🇮🇩 · $10

    “Wish I could do more. Thought of Emilia all day after reading this. - Bandung”

  • Simone Russo 🇮🇹 · $72
  • Beth G. Rogers 🇺🇸 · $10
  • Hussein Hamza Haddad 🇸🇦 · $50
  • Yamini G. Sidhu 🇦🇺 · $21
  • Elijah R. Dominguez 🇨🇦 · $15

    “Hope things get better. This is from my last paycheck, glad to do it. - Victoria”

  • Naresh F. Soni 🇮🇳 · $30

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  • Sending strength, Emilia. Everyone deserves a bit of help sometimes. Read this on the bus and kept thinking about it all day.

    • Sending good thoughts, Emilia. It takes guts to ask. Well done. I told my book club about it and three of them are giving too. Thinking of London

      • Thinking of you. Hope this works out for you. I went through something like this 7 years ago and strangers helped me out. Take care

        • Shakil Pavel HaquePhoto verified

          Hope it all works out, Emilia. Shared this with my family.

          • Sending good thoughts, Emilia. Hope you get there. Don't give up.

            • Thanks for sharing this. I hope your landlord gives you a bit more time while this comes together. My mother had a similar thing happen so this one hit home. Love from Braunschweig.

              • So sorry you're going through this, Emilia. Your post was clear and honest. God bless.

                $1,698 raised of $3,900

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