Child Safeguarding Values for Supporters

We know as a Supporter that you are committed to helping children living in poverty. We hope that this experience allows you to build a stronger connection with a family in our global neighbourhood, and that is a rewarding experience for both you and your sponsored child.

Child safeguarding is vital at all times, so we ask all Supporters to uphold these values:

• Do no harm. It may sound like common sense, but your contact with your sponsored child should never cause harm to them, their family or community. Be sensitive to the cultural values of your child, and don’t disclose any information which might be put them at risk.

• Safety. If you share your sponsorship story with your friends and family (including online), make sure you do not endanger your sponsored child by publicly disclosing their full name, where they live, private information (such as HIV status) or expose them to negative reprisals (e.g. linking them to political positions).

• Positive Contact. All contact needs to be mediated to protect both you and the child. So all correspondence and visits are managed by ChildFund Australia and the ChildFund country office where your child resides. Don’t engage in any non-mediated contact, including through social media or phone.

• Be Role Models. Set an example of good child safeguarding practice, e.g. avoid sharing pictures that may be seen as sexually suggestive or asking children to keep secrets.

You can share the child’s photo, with first name and community name, but for safety reasons no further information. We have designed the folder we share with you so that you can easily share the photo and information on the front of the folder.