I would tell him congrats for going through all this with a positive attitude and I wish him the best of luck in his programming career. As for financial independence, may I suggest that he start on elance with a very cheap price to get experience and build a reputation. A beautiful portfolio website really help (At first there would no "past project"; Just a beautiful splash page offering services with X years of experience; then best projects could be added as they are finished.) Also, it's easier to get paid more and be taken if you get specialized in marketing/SEO/business strategy. It's very hard to compete on elance with a psd->html 8$/hours. Lastly, may I suggest that he assist some weekly tech event in his city.. if you say he's got few friends, that would be a good way to meet people sharing his own passion.
