Efforts begin to deliver donations to people of Gaza

Efforts are under way to deliver the donations received by the Help Gaza Telethon, organised by Maldivian media organizations, to the people of Gaza.

The Help Gaza Telethon amassed MVR 28,972,595.98 in total, which equals over USD 1.88 million.

Spokesperson for Help Gaza Telethon Ahmed Zahir (Hiriga) told Sun Online today, “As mentioned earlier, we are working on handing over the money received by the fund established to help our Muslim brothers and sisters in Gaza, to the Qatar Red Crescent.”

He said that ongoing efforts include discussions with central bank Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), national bank Bank of Maldives (BML), and relevant government authorities, regarding exchanging the money from Maldivian Rufiya to US Dollars.

“Before handing the money over to Qatar Red Crescent, we want to confirm how it will be utilised. We have drawn up an agreement with the organisation, and already sent them the draft. The agreement states that the money should be used to provide food, water and medicine to Muslims who are suffering following the Israeli offensive in Gaza. It states that the money should not be used for any other purpose,” said Zahir.

He said that the arrangements to deliver the money are expected to be finalised before the end of the month.

“We should be able to hand over the money to Qatar Red Crescent before the end of August. Discussions are ongoing to arrange a visit to the Maldives next week, by a team representing the organisation,” he said.

The fund-raising effort saw tremendous, unprecedented nation-wide support. The estimated collection by the 36-hour telethon held from 8 to 9 August, was MVR 20.7 million.