Help Oro Make Cupcakes Again!

PLEASE HELP ME FULFILL MY DREAM AND START MY LIFE! ♥

With your help, I can start from zero again and do what I love the most:
Making cupcakes for a living!
Help me achieve my goal by donating, sharing, suggesting, criticizing or anything you like!
and remember: No donation is too small!
as little as a few bucks could go a long way with me, I will also be forever in your favor, really, this means the world to me.

(All the donations will go to a savings account of a childhood friend mine in the USA,  which is why it says the address is in Jacksonville, Florida.)
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-Read below for all the details:


Hello, my name is Oro Mahjoob, I'm 20 years old, I'm of a mixed origin, but I carry a Tunisian nationality.
Cooking (ESPECIALLY making cakes) is my passion in life, it's what I strive for; I never enjoy anything more than making cupcakes and decorating them!

(Check out my  food hashtag #OroliciousFood  here to see more of my recipes, experiments, and attemps!)

Starting:

I was born in Saudi Arabia and, I spent 18 years there, I have been cooking my own food since I was 12, but during my last year of high school (and living with my family in Saudi Arabia), I had discovered my niche, cupcakes!
I was not so good at baking at first, but I kept trying so many times;  it was the thing that I loved so much that I lost my sense of time when doing it, but I did not suffice with my inability to make awesome cakes!
I made MANY mistakes, but I have learned MANY lessons as well
(this was my first multi-layered cake, I was too tired to notice that I had accidentally switched between the orange, LOL).

(first time trying to make roses out of buttercream, I had just gotten my first rose petal piping-tip, keep scrolling down, it'll get much better).

Learning:

So, after a few months of trial and error, I had developed my own recipe for white cake batter!
I had some very basic tools, I even made the cupcakes in an all-in-one microwave-grill-oven thing, but I learned my way around using it after many failed attempts, even though it had horrible heat-distribution and accuracy.

(practicing how to deal with the oven's heat distribution and baking with blueberry-swirl strawberry cupcakes).

I started experimenting with recipes, tastes, and colors, trying out as many cool and trendy  and innovative flavors / combinations  as I can,

(those are my white chocolate stuffed vanilla butterscotch drizzle cupcakes).

I also started giving cupcakes to family and friends, and also on other occasions, whether it be when guests came over, or as a treat for the kids, or an event to get their feedback and try to improve my recipes, I even hosted some parties! 

(I catered for a birthday party for my stepmom's friend at the hair salon they work in).

(made this for Valentine's day, was my first time making homemade fondant and also using it!).

Selling:

I had created many flavors, stuffings, and frostings.. and before I knew it, people went INSANE over my cupcakes!
I was a high school senior back then; I did not have enough time / money to make cupcakes for everyone, so I started charging for them, and only making orders to close friends and relatives. since I did not have enough time to make orders for everyone, but let me tell you:
IT. WAS. AMAZING!
happiest months of MY LIFE!

(an order by my chocoholic friend,  dark chocolate cupcakes with Nutella stuffing, with milk chocolate and nutella buttercream frosting).


Everyone used to pass by my house to grab a bunch of cupcakes, I used to bring some to friends, I even catered a few parties with my cakes, it was so fulfilling! I've never felt prouder/happier!
I even made a lot of money that made me able to buy and experiment with a lot more ingredients and tools!
(my first chocolate-drip cake, it was for my bestfriend's birthday + our graduation!)

(another order by my stepmom's friends in the hair salon, it was during the  muslim holy month of Ramadan, and it was my first time piping out multi-colored buttercream).

(a few of the many cupcakes that I have brought to school on an open day / pre-graduation event).

(testimonials by friends and teachers :P )

(I also make savory food, and milkshakes)

Those were the best days of my life; I was doing what I was best at, and what I loved the most.
Yes, I was not that experienced, nor that neat, but I was on my way there, I had a lot of ideas and plans in mind, and I couldn't wait to put them into action.
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Leaving:

Sadly, due to many circumstances, I had to leave my family, friends, home, country, and everything behind, in order to flee and start a decent life somewhere else.
I was in grave danger(s), I had to leave everything I've ever had, things happened so quickly and I had no time to collect my things.

For two years, it was a battle to survive, I could not even afford an oven, nor the tools required to make cupcakes again.
I have went through many dangerous and devastating circumstances, traumas, and experiences.
So I had to postpone my goal in life (which is to make cupcakes for a living).

(this was the last cupcake order I have made, also the last time I ever made cupcakes, two years ago.. brings tears to my eyes everytime I see this photo).


I had to focus on being safe and rescuing myself for a long while, I could not afford to get back what I have lost.
So, for two years, I stuck with easy savory food that I can make on any stove.

( factory-mimic homemade nuggets that took me over a couple of days to make,  check out why here , half of those are dorito-crusted).

Starting over:

I am much more safer now, I live in a small studio in a high-security compound in Cairo, Egypt.
I am barely making ends meet trying to do my papers and settle somewhere safe enough where I get to live a decent life.
I do not know how long that process will take, or how much it will cost, or whether or not I can ensure myself a decent (and safe) life here in Egypt, but for now, I get to take a breath.

I get to live somewhere, on my own, without the danger of having to flee every few months.
And if I ever found a better chance somewhere else, I am free to take my things with me as I go; as I am not as restricted by time (or circumstances) as before, and I am VERY grateful for that.

So now I get the chance to start over, and reclaim everything that I have lost.

I can use this time to get back in the game, do what I love the most, while also trying to financially support myself for the obstacles that I (might) have ahead through my craft.

My plan is to be able to practice what I'm best at (for the time being), and also to fully support myself, financially, with that practice.

In order to do so, I have to buy the equipment needed to be able to make cupcakes again, and also gain a clientele, the same way that I had done in Saudi Arabia.

With all that, I can start selling cupcakes to cover my own expenses and lawyer/ immigration/ residence fees, so I wouldn't have to depend on anyone else, or pure luck, or a miracle.

Sadly, to be able to get the equipment needed, it will take me a huge amount of time, with the rate of money that I am gaining now (I work on an online site to translate, write, edit, tag content, the pay rate is very low, but it is better than nothing, and it is all I have for now).

Below I will list all of the things that I need, with their pricing, reasons why I need them, and also how I'm gonna use them.
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Equipment:

1- A decent, safe oven. ($275-$300)

-Why I need it:
I live in a furnished studio; if I left it, I'd have nothing to cook with.
Also, my oven is very low quality, old, used, and unsafe; it has leaked gas a couple of times.
This one has many safety features to prevent the dangers of Egyptian apartments, like gas leaks and electrical shortages.
It also has amazing heat distribution, many options, and a sturdy structure, the outer surfaces do not get affected by the heat inside the oven, so it is very less likely to burn stuff/people around it.
 
-How I will use it:
in short: to cook.
I will use it to bake my cakes, cook food, heat things up, and all of what's in between.
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2- An all-in-one mixer.($300-$350)

-Why I need it:
It has all of the things I need! whisking, mixing, grinding, beating, kneading, and the list goes on! it's like 7 home appliances in one!
It also has different speeds, a huge bowl, it is very sturdy and professional, I don't think I will have to get another one for the rest of my life.
I need it to make almost everything cake-related, and it will help me do many sweet drinks and savory dishes as well!

-How I will use it:
I will use it to make dough, batters, icings, frostings, milkshakes, smoothies, juices, burgers, nuggets, Purées, condiments.
For example: I can use the whisk to make buttercream and Swiss Meringue buttercream, because the mixer is well held in place and consistent, I can pour hot sugar syrup while whisking egg whites to make the Swiss Meringue.
And I can also make anything, from homemade Falafel, to burgers, to bread!
I can even make my own Aioli!
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The other stuff include basic piping tips, Russian piping tips, a turn-table, and so on .

I will try to cover the rest of the expenses on my own, but I really need your help to get the basics, it will literally save my life!
 
Thank you so much for taking all this time to read my story, if you have any questions/ suggestions/ info, please send me an E-mail, or message my on my socials, which will be listen in the contact section.

Again, thank you!!!
♥♥♥♥
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Contact:

E-mail: [email redacted]
Facebook: Oro Mahjoob
Snapchat, Instagram: OROSOLAX