Goan Corner: help Sharmila and her family rebuild
Donation protected
Hi,
my name is Nils, and I'm collecting for a family which is very important to me and asked me for help.
Since my first trip to India in 2014, I’ve been coming back to the magical place of Virupappurra Gaddi, better known as Hampi Island, for several months each year.
I fell in love with the place when I first arrived, and, especially, the people from the village, becoming friends with many of them. In particular, Sharmila and her family at the Goan Corner guesthouse became like my mother, father, and brothers from another country ,that is why I feel obligated to help them by setting up this fundraiser.
Here is Sharmila, telling her heartbreaking story.
Early morning on the 5th of March 2020, a few days before the first Covid-19 lockdown was declared in India, bulldozers drove past lush green rice fields and into our compound and demolished our home and guesthouse, the Goan Corner. We were given little warning to unpack as bulldozers brought down years of hard work and a house full of memories. We were out on the streets with nowhere to go. The Goan Corner was a humble home for my family—my husband, three children, and seven puppies and cats. It was also a source of revenue for the 30 employees that were part of our larger family. Nobody was spared in the village, as 18 other small businesses suffered the same fate.
Over night, the local economy that had grown in this idyllic corner opposite the ruins of Hampi was wiped out. It didn’t matter that we had transformed this patch of land into a thriving establishment; it didn’t matter that this place had been a sanctuary for climbers and travelers from across the world; nor did it matter that this was a true story of a chance at equal opportunity, where a woman had built a business and risen against all odds to provide for her family. Despite paying taxes and ensuring sound legal work, we faced challenges with the local administration, the High Court in Bangalore and the Supreme Court in New Delhi. But in a country with a deep-rooted history of corruption, our small businesses stood little chance. Big corporations and their visions transformed the idyllic corner into a village of broken homes and lives.
As I believe, they can knock down my house and my business but they can’t pull down my dreams. They can level off years of hard work but we will rebuild. Months after we were thrown out on the streets, in those darks days when we slept under tents in the rubble of our homes, we decided that this would not be our narrative. This experience would make us wiser. In the year of hardship that 2020 has been, we are planting a seed of hope. We have purchased a piece of land and are following water-tight legal procedures as we register a business and the rights to build a home. Erecting something from nothing is no easy task, but we are up to the challenge and have started this campaign to raise money.
The Goan Corner is not just a business, it is an experience. It is the chance to lose yourself in nature, to reconnect with the immensity of the world around us, to look upon the boulders and marvel at divine creation. It is also an opportunity to gaze at the ruins from the Vijayanagar Empire and marvel at the capabilities of man. As they say, “build and they will come,” and we build again. Help support us in this endeavor as we start afresh: Goan Corner 2.0. Come on a journey with us!
Please help in any way you can
Since we cannot visit them to help rebuild, spread this Fundraiser to as many people as you can.
To learn more about the destruction of the homes and businesses in Hampi Island and the effect it’s had on the community, read this UKC article: ‘Corruption in Hampi: India’s Bouldering Paradise’
corruption in Hampi - UK Climbing
my name is Nils, and I'm collecting for a family which is very important to me and asked me for help.
Since my first trip to India in 2014, I’ve been coming back to the magical place of Virupappurra Gaddi, better known as Hampi Island, for several months each year.
I fell in love with the place when I first arrived, and, especially, the people from the village, becoming friends with many of them. In particular, Sharmila and her family at the Goan Corner guesthouse became like my mother, father, and brothers from another country ,that is why I feel obligated to help them by setting up this fundraiser.
Here is Sharmila, telling her heartbreaking story.
Early morning on the 5th of March 2020, a few days before the first Covid-19 lockdown was declared in India, bulldozers drove past lush green rice fields and into our compound and demolished our home and guesthouse, the Goan Corner. We were given little warning to unpack as bulldozers brought down years of hard work and a house full of memories. We were out on the streets with nowhere to go. The Goan Corner was a humble home for my family—my husband, three children, and seven puppies and cats. It was also a source of revenue for the 30 employees that were part of our larger family. Nobody was spared in the village, as 18 other small businesses suffered the same fate.
Over night, the local economy that had grown in this idyllic corner opposite the ruins of Hampi was wiped out. It didn’t matter that we had transformed this patch of land into a thriving establishment; it didn’t matter that this place had been a sanctuary for climbers and travelers from across the world; nor did it matter that this was a true story of a chance at equal opportunity, where a woman had built a business and risen against all odds to provide for her family. Despite paying taxes and ensuring sound legal work, we faced challenges with the local administration, the High Court in Bangalore and the Supreme Court in New Delhi. But in a country with a deep-rooted history of corruption, our small businesses stood little chance. Big corporations and their visions transformed the idyllic corner into a village of broken homes and lives.
As I believe, they can knock down my house and my business but they can’t pull down my dreams. They can level off years of hard work but we will rebuild. Months after we were thrown out on the streets, in those darks days when we slept under tents in the rubble of our homes, we decided that this would not be our narrative. This experience would make us wiser. In the year of hardship that 2020 has been, we are planting a seed of hope. We have purchased a piece of land and are following water-tight legal procedures as we register a business and the rights to build a home. Erecting something from nothing is no easy task, but we are up to the challenge and have started this campaign to raise money.
The Goan Corner is not just a business, it is an experience. It is the chance to lose yourself in nature, to reconnect with the immensity of the world around us, to look upon the boulders and marvel at divine creation. It is also an opportunity to gaze at the ruins from the Vijayanagar Empire and marvel at the capabilities of man. As they say, “build and they will come,” and we build again. Help support us in this endeavor as we start afresh: Goan Corner 2.0. Come on a journey with us!
Please help in any way you can
Since we cannot visit them to help rebuild, spread this Fundraiser to as many people as you can.
To learn more about the destruction of the homes and businesses in Hampi Island and the effect it’s had on the community, read this UKC article: ‘Corruption in Hampi: India’s Bouldering Paradise’
corruption in Hampi - UK Climbing
Organizer
Nils Walter
Organizer
Eppelheim, Baden-Württemberg