A screenshot showing the Givealittle page set up for a family in Gaza. Photo: Screenshot / Givealittle
A New Zealander who raised over $50,000 for a family in Gaza is calling on Givealittle to unlock pages collecting donations for those caught up in the conflict.
On Tuesday RNZ reported New Zealand donors were fighting Givealittle for refunds after their page was shut down over concerns about financing terrorism in Gaza.
Just over a year ago, Sarai Tuhua joined Project Love Brigade which got people to partner up with families in Gaza and fundraise for them.
Tuhua was partnered with a man named Abdullah Elshai and his daughters Swar and Musk.
Since then, she told RNZ that she had been able raise nearly $58,000 for the three people so they could have food, fuel and materials.
Tuhua said the money had mainly been raised through social media and people donating directly to a bank account, however she set up a Givealittle page in February.
She said she did that to add legitimacy to her campaign, to make it easier for people to donate from overseas and to raise money faster to evacuate the father and his daughters.
The donate button on her Givealittle page was taken off last week, she said.
"They've emailed me back and said they are shutting down Gaza accounts, which is really disappointing."
Tuhua said the company told her the reason was because the money they had raised wasn't traceable, which she rejected.
"Even though the process to actually get the funds into Gaza is quite complicated due to all the barriers that have been put in place we can still paper-trail it."
She said that the cost of living was extrememly high due to resource scarcity.
"Twenty-five kilos of flour is NZ$800, so it is a lot of money they need to survive."
In an email Givealittle sent to Tuhua, the organisation said that whilst it appreciated her record keeping, it needed to apply consistent criteria across the platform that accounted for factors beyond transaction history.
It said that included regulatory considerations, external risk assessments and limitations on independent verification.
Givealittle said that it would work to explore whether a partnership with a registered charity could provide a more stable and supported pathway for fundraisers, but Tuhua said that would be "useless" because a larger charity could not get aid into Gaza.
She said it would be really useful for organisers like her to be able to use the Givealittle platform.
In that same email chain, the organisation said it made the decision to close a small number of pages that no longer aligned with the platform's criteria for safe and traceable fundraising after a review of its Gaza policy.
On Tuesday RNZ spoke to Ciara, a New Zealand donor who was told by Givealittle that her page did not meet requirements and could not continue to recieve donations.
Givealittle told Ciara in an email, which RNZ's Midday Report has seen, that as a regulated platform under New Zealand's Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, they "have a duty to go beyond minimum requirements when we assess risk".
The platform was worried the funds could be used by someone linked to Hamas, which New Zealand has listed as a terrorist entity.
Givealittle said in a statement to Midday Report the decision to update its policy was not taken lightly.
"The banking and financial infrastructure in Gaza is now so unstable that we can no longer, with certainty, verify the identity of individual beneficiaries or ensure that funds can be delivered safely and transparently," a spokesperson said.
This policy applies only to individual fundraising in Gaza.
"Givealittle continues to support pages linked to registered New Zealand charities operating in the region, where funds can be safely distributed through trusted channels. We encourage donors who wish to help to continue giving through these organisations," the spokesperson said.
"We appreciate the compassion of those who have created and supported these pages and are committed to ensuring that generosity continues to have an impact."
Any payments already due to verified individuals would still be honoured.
In a statement to RNZ, Associate Justice Minister Nicole Mckee said businesses and charities set their own policies based on the requirements of the AML/CFT Act and she could not comment on Givealittle's approach.
McKee said charities operating overseas have important obligations under the Act to protect themselves and donors from misuse.
"These include risks of being misused by individuals or organisations to assist money laundering, support terrorism financing or other criminal activities."
She acknowledged it was a difficult situation, particularly where families were involved.
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