Update after an hour - half way already! (plus the link, again, because i'm useless)

You guys are awesome. In under an hour, we've just ticked over $800. Please don't apologise for saying you could only afford a small amount because ahakoa he iti - ahakoa he five bucks, he pounamu!

What's even more amazing is that the email didn't include a link to the actual page to donate so it was a two step process.... doh. To all those tech whizzes who navigated to the blog online, and found the "donate" button, put your feet up and take the rest of the afternoon off.

For anyone else who was confused, here is the link here!

And in case this is the first email you're reading from me today, here is the background you've missed.

Aotearoa 2 Gaza Tent Drive - asking for your help.

As I write this, the windows are rattling and the wind is gusting like gunfire in the distance. I cannot see the horizon, just waves of rain rolling in and rolling in. What a marvel a sheath of glass encased in timber.

And to think I write to you today to ask for a contribution towards nylon.

This week I committed to raising $1500 to buy a 14 person tent for Asma and her family of 8 in Gaza. Asma is 24. She's just a year older than Cormac. A fashion designer and seamstress, before the genocide, Asma had just opened a boutique. Then it was destroyed by Israel.

Asma moved into a refugee camp with her family with only a few things they'd salvaged, and since then she has become a camp mum. All the kids love her - and you can see why:

With the support and coordination of Emily Writes and Aotearoa 4 Gaza Mutual Aid, a number of artists and writers and I have been matched with a family in Gaza. The goal is ambitious: shelter for 40 of the 60 families currently being supported.

$1500 seems like such a lot of money, but this newsletter goes to a distribution of just over a thousand people - 650 of whom consistently read it. If every one of us donated $10 we'd be able to buy four tents. Even if only half of you donate we'd hit the target of $1500 in a matter of hours.

I don't know if you're someone who's already donated to Gaza many times, or if you've always wanted to but felt that all you could afford was so small as to be pointless or embarrassing. But this is where communities come into our collective power; Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou, ka ora ai te iwi, with your basket and mine, we live. Let's just give what we can.

Details and fine print | Transparency: Where's the money going and how is it getting there?

As I'm sure you know, it's been incredibly challenging getting aid into Gaza - it might even be one of the reasons you haven't felt confident making a donation, or haven't known which organisation to support. The Aotearoa for Gaza Mutual Aid fund is in direct and daily contact with the families your donations will support. That's why $10 really will make a difference. I will personally collect all the donations that come in, and transfer the $1500 over as soon as we hit the target. I will update you tomorrow as to how we are tracking - some have already met their target which is awesome! I hope I can do the same - I am more than happy to trade a complimentary sub for a donation!

Here are some of the others who've signed up and committed to raising $1500 (which you can also do, here).

Enchanted Realm
Darien Fisher Tattoo
Sick Sad Lit (Follow Sick Sad Lit on Instagram)
Michelle Langstone
Nadine Hura
Robert Johnson
Liz + Rudie (Follow Liz + Rudie on Facebook)
Aych McArdle
Marianne Elliott
Crochet Bae
Liz Breslin
Stephanie Rodgers
Bronwyn Turei
Rebecca Keil
Kirsty Baker

The storm is set to sit over the country for the rest of the week, and this government seems hell bent on embarrassing itself globally with its piss-ass refusal to recognise Palestinian statehood, but however grim things feel here in Aotearoa, nothing can compare to the unimaginable suffering of families in Gaza. Please do what you can; even if it's just sharing this email.

Arohanui, and THANK