Privacy Policy

The short version

We collect the least we can get away with. We do not sell your data, we do not rent our supporter list, and we do not swap it with other organisations — a practice that is still common in this sector and which we have chosen not to take part in.

If you only read one section, read your rights. Everything there can be exercised by sending one email, and we will not ask you why.

What we collect

Information you give us directly

Your name, email address and message when you use the contact form; the same plus your location, availability and professional background when you apply to volunteer; and your name, email and billing details when you donate.

Information collected automatically

Your IP address, browser type, the pages you visit and the time of your visit. This is standard web server logging and we use it to keep the site up and to spot abuse.

Information we do not collect

We do not run advertising trackers, social media pixels, or third-party analytics that build a profile of you across other websites. There is no Facebook pixel on this site.

Why we collect it

Each piece of data has one job, and we do not repurpose it for a second one without asking:

• To reply to you. If you send a message, we need somewhere to send the answer.
• To process a donation. Payment processing and the receipt or tax documentation that follows it.
• To assess a volunteer application. Reviewing whether a placement is a fit, and coming back to you either way.
• To meet our legal obligations. Charity regulators and tax authorities require us to keep records of donations for a defined period.
• To keep the site working. Server logs, error reports and rate limiting that stops automated abuse.

Who we share it with

We share data with a small number of processors who perform a specific function on our behalf and are contractually barred from using it for anything else: our payment provider, our email delivery provider, and our hosting provider.

We will disclose information where the law requires it. We will also disclose it where we believe there is a serious and immediate risk to someone's safety — a judgement our safeguarding lead makes, not an automated process.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. There is no exception to this.

How long we keep it

• Contact messages — 24 months, then deleted.
• Volunteer applications — 24 months from the decision, so we can approach you if a suitable placement opens.
• Donation records — 7 years, as required for financial reporting and audit.
• Server logs — 90 days.

Your rights

Wherever you live, we extend the same set of rights to everyone. You can ask us to:

• Give you a copy of everything we hold about you.
• Correct anything that is wrong.
• Delete what we hold, except records we are legally required to retain.
• Stop contacting you, permanently.
• Export your data in a portable format.

Email privacy@example.org and we will action it within 30 days. You do not need to give a reason, and asking will never affect how we treat you as a supporter or applicant.

Cookies

This site sets one essential cookie for your session and stores your light or dark theme preference in your browser's local storage. Neither is used for tracking, and neither leaves your device except as part of a normal request to our own server.

We do not set advertising or profiling cookies, which is why you have not been shown a consent banner demanding you accept them.

Programme participants

People treated in our clinics are covered by a separate and stricter clinical records policy, governed by the health authority of the country in question. Patient data never leaves the country it was collected in, is never used in fundraising material, and the case studies published on this site are shared with written, informed and revocable consent — with names and identifying details changed where the person asked for that.

Children

This website is not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

When this policy changes materially we will update the date at the top and, where the change affects how we use data you have already given us, tell you directly rather than relying on you to re-read this page.