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I liked Raspberry Pi because they are affordable and cheap computers for low income kids to have. I have one and its been a godsend. I went to buy one for my niece and they are sold out everywhere!!!
Can someone point in a direction to where I can find one.
Also, I apologize if this question is not appropriate here but I'm desperate!
Unfortunately, there are no near-term solutions for today's shortages. Your best bets may be to get on a vendor's "waiting list", or spend hours monitoring sources like the one mentioned by @SteveRobillard in his comment.
FWIW, an understanding of the situation may be useful in your planning. Some accounts - including one from Eben Upton - discount the "chip shortage" explanation for the current and persistent "out of stock" situation for Raspberry Pi. This article - for example - claims the "Trading Company" (run by Mr. Upton) is still manufacturing 500K units/month, but states that commercial customers have been given priority. So this isn't a "shortage" so much as a re-allocation of assets, or perhaps - as is claimed - increased demand. An older article is consistent with that explanation.
Available information suggests that perhaps changes to the Raspberry Pi organization itself may have more to do with the current shortage of RPi units than market forces in the semiconductor industry. The RPi organization has changed rather dramatically since its creation in 2009. It was founded as a charity (to serve "education", and avoid paying taxes), but according to figures published by the UK's Charity Commission the percentage of revenues actually going to "Charitable Activities" was quite small, amounting to only 10% of revenue in 2020. As a charity, the RPi organization never served much of its revenue to "Charitable Activities". The remit of the RPi organization as now disclosed seems to be substantially changed from that of an "education-oriented charity"; it is now focused on industrial applications - and profit. Only time will fully inform us of where this leads, and how it impacts future availability and cost of RPi as "hobby hardware".
But the primary motivation for this "answer" is only this: You shouldn't overlook the fact that there are masses of older PCs available in the marketplace that can also provide your niece with learning opportunities equal to or greater than the Raspberry Pi. It's certainly worth remembering that "computing" did not begin with the RPi, and that there is much to be learned beyond beyond its confines.
My suggestion is to take one of your older PCs and put Linux ubuntu on it. That can be accomplished in an evening with the bells and whistles included. That will give her most of what the Pi offers but it is still missing the I/O but there are some I/O boards that would probably do the job. Most editions of Linux come with Python already loaded so the basic Pi software is there and she can learn a lot from that. This would keep her busy for many the many months ahead and depending on the PC you may already have a keyboard and monitor for the Pi When it arrives. I know this is not a final solution but it is an interim to help her while waiting on the Pi(s) you ordered. Best to order two if you can.
