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A single mum has been branded ‘shameless’ after launching a GoFundMe page to help build her ‘dream home’.
Self-titled ‘hippie’ Kara Hoppo, who lives in Australia, set up the campaign to help raise AUD $40,000 (£23,000) for a new home that will help her family live their ‘dream of a self-sufficient lifestyle and simple sustainable life’.
The mum-of-four posted the fundraiser on the Darwin Buy Swap Sell page, but later removed it after being met with a divided reaction from social media users.
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On the GoFundMe page, which has currently raised AUD $4,220 (£2,397), she explained that she is currently studying to become a ‘fully qualified energy healer’ by the end of the year.
“At this stage, I am on [Centrelink, which provides income support in Australia] still and trying to get out of that 'pay you enough to survive but never enough to get ahead' trap but not quite there, while more and more hurdles get thrown our way,” she wrote.
“We find ourselves in a difficult position where we are needing to move from the home that we are currently in mainly due to health and safety reasons, in a rental market that is skyrocketing and we cannot really afford.
“We currently live out bush, pay very low rent, the boys love their school and have made beautiful connections and friendships and I would love to stay around the area we are to maintain those connections and not uproot them from another school and familiarity.”
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Having found no other ‘alternatives’ to their situation, Hoppo said she is now asking for help to buy two ‘demountables’ - buildings that can be removed and relocated – so that her family can set up a permanent home on a friend’s block.
The mother said AUD $40,000 would ‘completely change’ their lives, saying the cash would not only cover the demountables, but also trade workers to connect electricity and plumbing, a composting toilet and metalwork foundations for a decking area, among other things.
Hoppo explained that she has been a stay-at-home mum for ‘many years’ as she believes in the importance of ‘staying at home and nurturing connections with our children, especially in the first years’, admitting it was the ‘hardest path’ to take.
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"I want to shamelessly say that I feel I have still been a positive and active contributor to society regardless,” she said.
“I also want to add that this post actually wasn't easy for me. I don't like feeling like I am posting a sob story or just asking for handouts.”
She offered to put all of the donors into a draw to win one years’ worth of energy healings – but this didn’t prove to be enough for some people, who commented on Facebook to say the campaign was ‘totally shameless’.
One person wrote: “The audacity of this! Maybe she should use the same internet to open. Seek and get a job like every one else."
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Another said: “There are people out there who genuinely need and deserve help, not asking for free rides. Help them instead.”
But one of Hoppo’s relatives defended her, writing: “She is currently living in a leaky shed and is trying to find a solution out of her current predicament for permanent dry accommodation for her children.”
They added: “She has always helped others whenever possible including arranging and coordinating donations to feed the homeless at Christmas."
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Others on the GoFundMe page also offered words of support, with one saying: “Don’t allow people’s negativity to stop you from asking for help. I think your dream for you and your little ones is beautiful. I was a single Mom before I met my Fiancé so I know what it is like to want more for your babies.”
Another commented: “When I was younger I also dreams of building my own house. At 50 years old I wanted to build a rammed earth house in Southern USA. But now the water shortage there would make that dream impossible. I hope this young lady can go for it now and complete her dream. I will help more when I can.”
In an update on her own Facebook page, Hoppo thanked people for their help, saying: "I have cried many tears of gratitude, thanks and relief as our dreams now becomes another step closer to reality. I know I will cry many more the closer this reality comes and likely cry like a baby on the day we start living our reality."
Tyla has reached out to Hoppo for comment.
If you want to help her cause, you can donate here.
Jess Hardiman