Policy

Safeguarding

Children and vulnerable adults are at the heart of the work Build & Learn Africa funds — schools, classrooms and church communities. Their protection comes before any fundraising goal, without exception.

Our commitments

No public child marketplace

We never present individual children publicly for selection by donors. Education support is pooled across cohorts and schools, so every child in a supported cohort benefits and no child's face or story is used as a fundraising product.

Consent registry for all media

Photographs, videos and stories involving children are published only with documented guardian consent, recorded in a consent registry with the date and scope of consent. Consent can be withdrawn at any time and the material comes down.

Dignity in every image

We never publish a child's full name together with identifying details such as a precise location or school. Images are chosen to show dignity and progress, never distress staged for effect.

Clear reporting channels

Anyone — donor, community member, staff or partner — can raise a safeguarding concern, and every report is acknowledged, recorded and acted on. Reporters are protected from retaliation.

Why pooled sponsorship

Traditional one-child sponsorship models can expose children’s identities to strangers online and create painful divisions inside a classroom between sponsored and unsponsored children. We fund cohorts instead: your gift keeps a class, a school year or a school feeding programme running. Reporting shows the cohort’s progress — enrolment, attendance, completion — without trading in any individual child’s identity.

What we require of partners

a named safeguarding lead at every partner church and school receiving funds;
agreement to our code of conduct for anyone working with children in a funded project;
reference and background checks for project leadership as part of verification, within what local law allows — [Configure: background-check standard per country — confirm at legal review];
immediate reporting of any safeguarding incident connected to a funded project.

Donor visits and communication

Donors do not receive direct, unsupervised contact with children, and visits to project sites happen only when arranged with the partner and accompanied. We do not pass donors’ contact details to children or families, or vice versa.

Reporting a concern

If you are concerned about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult connected to any project on this platform, contact us via the contact form or at giving@buildlearnafrica.org — marked “Safeguarding”. Reports are handled confidentially by the safeguarding lead. [Configure: named safeguarding lead and dedicated reporting address — set before launch] If a child is in immediate danger, contact the local emergency services first.