Privacy Policy

1. Scope and who we are

This Privacy Policy explains how (“we”, “us”, “our”) handles personal information in connection with our charitable work in inclusive education and community support, primarily in Kenya, and when you interact with our website, donation and sponsorship flows, volunteer sign-up, and supporter or beneficiary portals where we provide them.

We aim to be transparent and proportionate: we collect only what we need to run programmes safely, process gifts, comply with law, and communicate with you respectfully. This policy should be read together with any consent or notice shown on specific forms.

2. Information we collect

Supporters and donors. When you make a donation or create or use a supporter account, we may collect your name, email address, billing or receipt details, country, gift amount, frequency, transaction references, and messages you attach to a gift. Payment card data is handled by our payment partners—we do not store full card numbers on our servers.

Sponsorship and beneficiaries. If you sponsor someone in our programme, we process information needed to administer the relationship (for example your account details, sponsorship status, and communications about your sponsorship). Information about beneficiaries is treated with heightened care; public-facing profiles may be limited or anonymised according to our safeguarding settings and consent.

Contact, volunteer, and enquiries. When you contact us or apply to volunteer, we collect the details you provide (such as name, email, phone, skills, availability, and the content of your message).

Website usage. We may collect technical data such as IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed, and timestamps, including through cookies or similar technologies where used. You can control many cookies through your browser settings.

3. How we use information

We use personal information to: process donations and sponsorships; issue receipts and acknowledgements; operate and improve our website and portals; respond to enquiries; manage volunteer relationships; comply with legal, regulatory, and audit requirements; protect against fraud or misuse; and, where you have agreed, send updates about our work (you can opt out of non-essential communications where applicable).

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use it for unrelated automated profiling that affects your legal rights.

4. Legal bases (where they apply)

Depending on the situation, we may rely on one or more of the following: your consent (for example where you tick a checkbox or subscribe to updates); performance of a contract or steps before a contract (for example processing a donation you initiated); legitimate interests that are not overridden by your rights (for example keeping our site secure, improving services, or internal reporting in aggregate form); or legal obligation (for example tax or financial record-keeping).

In Kenya, the Data Protection Act, 2019 and related guidance inform how we approach fairness, purpose limitation, and accountability. If you are in another country, local laws may also apply; contact us if you need clarification.

5. Sharing and processors

We share personal information only with people and organisations that need it to help us deliver our mission, and only as appropriate to their role. This may include: payment gateways and financial service providers; email and hosting providers; professional advisers; and partners or funders where reporting is required. We require processors to protect information and use it only for the purposes we specify.

We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or competent authority, or to protect the rights, safety, or integrity of our community.

6. International transfers

Some of our tools or partners may process data in countries other than Kenya. Where that happens, we take steps that are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure appropriate safeguards (such as contractual clauses or provider certifications), consistent with applicable law.

7. Retention

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes above, including legal, tax, and accounting requirements. Retention periods vary: for example, financial records may be kept for several years after a transaction; marketing preferences are refreshed when you unsubscribe; beneficiary-related data may be governed by programme rules and safeguarding policies.

8. Security

We use administrative, technical, and organisational measures appropriate to the nature of our work—such as access controls, encryption in transit where supported, and staff awareness—to protect personal information. No online system is perfectly secure; please use strong passwords and contact us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

9. Your rights and choices

You may have rights to access, correct, or delete certain personal information, to object to or restrict some processing, to withdraw consent where processing is consent-based, and to lodge a concern with a data protection authority. The exact scope depends on applicable law.

To exercise your rights or ask questions, contact us at info@ubinadam.org. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

10. Children and vulnerable participants

Our programmes involve children and young people with disabilities. We take additional care with their data: publication of names, photos, or stories follows consent and safeguarding practices configured for our site. If you believe we have collected a child’s personal information improperly, please contact us immediately.

11. Cookies

We may use cookies or local storage for essential site operation (for example security or session management) and, where enabled, for analytics or preferences. You can usually disable non-essential cookies through your browser; essential cookies may be required for certain features to work.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “last updated” date on this page and, for significant changes, provide an additional notice where appropriate. Continued use of our services after changes means you acknowledge the updated policy.

13. Contact

Data protection and general privacy questions for : email info@ubinadam.org.