The events of October 7 when Hamas attacked innocent Israelis shocked the world. Equally, the endless Israelis military response is an appallingly over-reaction and is being described as genocidal. As people who want to assist the now-starving and destitute Palestinians living in bombed out towns and cities, we need to know that our donations will reach people in need. Diversion of donated funds would be a travesty and worse, illegal, if they were to reach Hamas.

Operation Hope has carefully examined the governance and legal registration of our partner charity assisting in Gaza, ‘Refugee Biriyani and Bananas‘ (RBB) and the processes they are using to transport aid into Gaza.

Operation Hope

Operation Hope Australia Ltd is a not for profit company registered with the Australian Security & Investments Commission and as a charity registered with the Australian Charity and Not-for-profits Commission with the status of a Benevolent Institution. Annual reports are posted on our web site including full financial statements.

Refugee Biriyani and Bananas

Refugee Biriyani & Bananas (RBB) was formed initially as a grassroots movement in response to the escalation of the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015. They were a group of friends who decided to cook and distribute 2,500 portions of biriyani and bananas for all residents of the unofficial refugee camp in Dunkirk, Northern France.

When they group returned home, they decided to form a grassroots organisation called Refugee Biriyani & Bananas (RBB) after ‘The Biriyani Mission.’ RBB consists of a team of volunteers and aid workers from all over the world and is led by Ruhi Loren Akhtar, a team of trustees and field coordinators on the ground.

RBB’s first year of operation as a charity was the 2020-2021 financial year. The charity structure is similar to Operation Hope, with 5 charity trustees appointed in the 2020-2021 financial year. Total in come in this year was £119,277.00. The accounts were independently examined by a qualified and authorised accountant.

In 2022-2023 the operation of the board was modified with a new set of trustees and the appointment of a CEO, Rhui Loren Akhtar, who was previously the founder and Chairperson of RBB. RBB has grown significantly to date with increased field operations and development of governance. They have a wide range of current and completed projects supporting refugees listed on the linked page: https://refugeebiriyanibananas.org/projects/. Income in the last year was £203,373 and expenses as shown on the annual report.

RBB has a comprehensive structure of policies, https://refugeebiriyanibananas.org/policies/, covering anti-money laundering including anti-terrorism, code of conduct, whistleblowing, safeguarding, financial, etc. Where necessary, a trustee is appointed with responsibility for compliance with the policy and reporting of any suspicious activity to the relevant government investigation body, in the case of suspected money-laundering activities.

RBB in Gaza

Initially we were only buying aid inside Gaza via our field teams. As supplies depleted further and prices rose there is now only certain items you can buy and therefore we decided to try and send a truck to supplement what could be brought inside and fresh produce to maximise our distribution impact. All of our previous distributions up until now have been with locally bought aid. If it is fresh produce like vegetables or meat then it is from Gaza. It if was dried food items we bought then there are also supplies in Gaza from Egypt and other countries. Funds for purchases are transferred by money transfer agencies to Gaza. 

We are delivering aid in Gaza via two modalities:

1) Buying local available aid to be distributed by local teams in Gaza.

• Field teams who are distributing aid for us have been set up and / or identified via our trusted Palestinian diaspora communities and volunteers who have worked with us for 3-4 years and are already aware of due diligence processes and our working methods and accountability necessities. 
• After this for all local partners we are working with there is a due diligence checks including obtaining references from reliable sources (at least one from people and / or organisations that we personally know), checking their registration status and governing documents if they are a registered organisation, checking their policies and documents including things like safeguarding policies, including anti money laundering, anti terrorism, procurement related clauses or guidelines to ensure they are matching with our values and also abiding to law and the charity commission’s guidelines. There are also identity checks and banking checks. It’s a little more than our usual due diligence process but this is to ensure that the aid is reaching the right people. Financial and impact reports are also checked and submitted to us. 
• After this when purchasing we are included in needs assessment and criteria for support before items are purchased and distributions happen. 
• We are provided with all receipts of purchases. 
• We are also provided with reporting or how many people were supported, how and what items, where, etc for our monthly and yearly impact reporting. 
• We are also provided with photos from distributions adhering to our photography policies 

2) Buying aid in Egypt and sending trucks of aid from Cairo to Gaza.

• For our current truck of aid to Gaza we worked with a UK registered charity supporting the logistics of sending trucks. We have come across them and their work in Lesvos and also Calais since 2015. They have been situated with a coordinator in Cairo since around the 12th of October and so far they have sent 160 trucks of aid to Gaza. 
• We have conducted similar due diligence processes and forms as mentioned above for local partners including all the usual checks and references also. We also set up memorandum or understandings and agreements. So essentially they are the ones facilitating the logistics of buying the aid and sending the truck which makes our jobs easier as they have built the networks and connections for this.
• In Cairo we have also had many other meetings with other NGOs dealing with this and the Egyptian Red Crescent and we are also interested in exploring other partners for other trucks. We were pretty impressed by the work and dedication of all that we met there.
• After sending the truck it goes to the Egyptian Red Crescent, via multiple checkpoints (I believe it is six) and into Gaza eventually being received by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. 
• We are notified of the location the truck once it reaches the PRCS. There is also a driver change right before the truck enters Gaza and the Egyptian driver waits for the truck to be unloaded and returned to him.
• The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), is the end beneficiary organisation and is an officially recognized independent Palestinian National Society. It is a legal entity and is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The Society, which operates in Palestine and the diaspora, is guided by the Geneva Conventions and the Movement’s Fundamental Principles, i.e. Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and Universality. For these reasons we can be confident that the aid will reach those who are genuinely in need, affected by the war, displaced and poverty stricken.
• From here our field teams will receive the aid items and the PRCS will only give it to approved providers including our Gaza teams.  
• After distributions we will be provided with reporting or how many people were supported and what items, and where for our monthly and yearly impact reporting. 
• We are also provided with photos from distributions adhering to our photography policies