Children come first.Always.

The children who appear on OrphanGive are real children, in real circumstances, with real vulnerabilities. They are minors. Many have lost one or both parents. Some have experienced trauma. All of them deserve to be cared for, protected, and treated with the dignity that any child deserves — and more.

Our safeguarding policy is not a legal disclaimer. It is the framework by which we judge every decision we make. When in doubt, we choose the child's safety over the sponsor's convenience. Always.

Every child listed on OrphanGive is a real child in Bangladesh, identified and verified by Children's Heaven Trust's field team with the informed consent of their guardian. Their welfare, dignity, and privacy are not secondary to the operation of the service — they are the operation of the service.

We commit to the following floor:

• No child is listed without documented guardian consent.
• No photo is published without per-photo consent recorded against the guardian.
• No identifying detail — exact address, school name, guardian name and contact, full date of birth — appears at the public tier.
• Donors cannot contact children or guardians directly. Reveal approval only unlocks limited additional progress information through OrphanGive — never contact details, and we never broker direct contact.
• Any safeguarding concern raised is investigated promptly and transparently.

This page explains our specific commitments, the systems we have in place to honour them, and what you should do if you have a concern about any child you encounter through our service.

Safeguarding is the term used by child protection professionals worldwide to describe the proactive measures an organisation takes to prevent harm to children in its care. It is broader than reacting to abuse after it occurs. It is the architecture of safety we build before harm has any chance to happen.

For OrphanGive, safeguarding covers:

• The vetting and ongoing supervision of our partner orphanages
• The verification and registration of every child profile we publish
• The boundaries we place on what information sponsors can access and when
• The training and accountability of staff and volunteers who interact with children
• The reporting channels through which concerns can be raised and resolved
• The legal and procedural frameworks under which we cooperate with authorities when serious matters arise

This policy binds:

• All Goodverse Foundation staff and contractors involved in operating OrphanGive.
• All Children's Heaven Trust staff, field workers, and partner volunteers involved in verifying, listing, and supporting children on the service.
• Any donor who has access to Tier 2 or Tier 3 child information.
• Any third-party service provider that handles child data on our behalf (Stripe, Resend, Cloudinary, our hosting provider).

It applies to in-person interactions, online interactions, written communications, photographs, and any other form of contact with or about children represented on OrphanGive.

• The child's best interest is paramount. Where any decision involves a trade-off between the child's welfare and any operational, financial, or donor consideration, the child's welfare wins.
• Informed consent. The guardian provides informed consent at listing and retains the right to withdraw consent — for the listing itself, for any specific photograph, or for any specific information — at any time. Withdrawal is honoured within 24 hours for photos and within 7 days for full listing retirement.
• Age-appropriate involvement.Where a child is old enough to express a view on whether and how they appear on OrphanGive, that view is sought through the field team and given weight alongside the guardian's.
• The three-tier privacy model is non-negotiable. Public viewers, authenticated donors, and reveal-approved sponsors see different amounts of information. The model is not a soft preference; it is enforced at the schema and access-control layer and cannot be bypassed.

OrphanGive does not directly operate orphanages. We partner with established orphanages in Bangladesh that have themselves been registered with the relevant Bangladeshi authorities, including the Social Welfare Department where applicable.

Before any partner orphanage is listed on OrphanGive, we verify:

• Their registration documents and operating licenses
• The leadership and governance of the organisation
• Their existing safeguarding policies and staff training records
• Their accountability to local authorities and to the children they serve
• Their willingness to comply with our additional safeguarding requirements

We conduct site visits before partnering and we maintain ongoing oversight through quarterly check-ins, annual deeper reviews, and unannounced visits where appropriate. Partner orphanages that fail to maintain standards have their partnership suspended pending remediation, or terminated where the failures are severe.

Before any child appears on OrphanGive, a Children's Heaven Trust field worker visits the household, meets the guardian, reviews supporting documents (identity, school enrolment, household income evidence), and confirms that the child meets the criteria for listing. No profile is published until that verification visit has been completed and signed off.

The verification process is described in more detail on the How It Works page.

Every child listed on OrphanGive has been verified by our field team, not just submitted by an orphanage. Verification includes:

• Confirmation of the child's identity and date of birth through official documents where available
• Confirmation that the child is in the lawful care of the registering orphanage or guardian
• Confirmation of orphan status — at minimum, the loss of one parent, with appropriate documentation
• Consent from the child's legal guardian for the child's photograph and basic information to be shared with prospective sponsors
• The child's own assent, where the child is of an age to understand and give it

We do not list children whose identity, status, or consent cannot be verified. Where doubt exists, the child is not listed.

We publish on OrphanGive's public pages only what is necessary for a prospective sponsor to begin a relationship:

• The child's first name (sometimes a chosen name rather than a legal name, for privacy)
• A general district or region within Bangladesh (never a specific address)
• The child's approximate age
• A photograph cleared by the child's guardian and reviewed by our team for safety

We never publish on the public site:

• The child's full legal name
• The child's exact address or specific school name
• Identifying details of family members
• Medical information
• School reports or grades
• The child's handwritten letters or detailed personal stories

These additional details are made available only to active sponsors of that specific child, and only after a formal reveal request is approved by our team. Reveal-controlled information is shared on a need-to-know basis and expires after ninety days, after which a fresh reveal request is required.

If a sponsor's relationship with a child ends — through cancellation, refund, or natural completion — their access to that child's reveal-controlled information is immediately revoked.

Sponsors using OrphanGive agree not to:

• Attempt to contact a sponsored child directly outside the channels we provide
• Travel to the child's location to meet them without our prior coordination and the orphanage's approval
• Photograph, film, or record any communication with a sponsored child for any purpose
• Republish, distribute, or commercially exploit any content shared with them through a sponsorship — including child photographs, names, stories, or letters
• Use information learned through sponsorship to attempt to identify, locate, or contact the child through other channels (social media, school records, public databases)
• Engage in any communication with a child that is romantic, sexual, manipulative, financially exploitative, or otherwise inappropriate

Violation of any of these will result in immediate termination of the sponsorship, refund of pending payments, permanent ban from our service, and where the conduct is criminal, notification of Bangladeshi authorities.

If you have a concern about the welfare, safety, or privacy of any child represented on OrphanGive, please report it immediately. Concerns may include (but are not limited to):

• Suspected misuse of a child's photo or information by another donor or third party.
• Inappropriate contact by anyone with access to Tier 2 or Tier 3 information.
• Reason to believe a guardian has not given fully informed consent for the listing.
• Reason to believe a child's circumstances have changed in a way that affects their safety or dignity.
• Any concern about the conduct of a field worker, staff member, or contractor.
• Anything in a child's communication that suggests they are being mistreated, neglected, or abused.
• Inappropriate behaviour by anyone associated with our service or our partner orphanages.
• Suspicions about another sponsor's conduct or intent.
• Concerns about the welfare or safety of a child you encounter in any way through OrphanGive.

Email: support@orphangive.org (with "Safeguarding concern" in the subject line). Provide as much detail as you can. You may report anonymously, although a contact address helps us follow up if more information is needed.

Designated safeguarding lead:Sarmin Sultana, Children's Heaven Trust.

Urgent concerns: for any concern requiring immediate intervention (suspected abuse, immediate risk), please contact the local Bangladesh authorities directly in addition to notifying us.

We commit to acknowledging every safeguarding report within twenty-four hours and to investigating thoroughly. Where authorities should be involved, we involve them. Where confidentiality is needed to protect the child or the reporter, we maintain it absolutely.

False or malicious reports waste time we owe to real concerns, but we would always rather investigate a sincere worry that turns out to be nothing than dismiss a real concern that turns out to be something. Err on the side of reporting.

A safeguarding report is acknowledged within one business day. The designated safeguarding lead at OrphanGive coordinates with Children's Heaven Trust's designated safeguarding officer to investigate. Urgent matters — those involving immediate risk to a child — trigger action within 48 hours, including (where appropriate) immediate retirement of the profile from the service pending investigation.

Where the concern involves alleged misconduct by a staff member, contractor, or donor, that person's access to the service or to relevant information is suspended for the duration of the investigation. Findings are documented and actions are taken in proportion to the finding.

Where the law of Bangladesh requires us to report a concern to the authorities (including the Department of Social Services or the police), we do so. Where the law permits us to keep the reporter's identity confidential, we do so.

All staff and volunteers of Children's Heaven Trust who interact with children — whether in person, by phone, or through written communication — undergo:

• Background checks where possible under Bangladesh law
• Safeguarding training before they begin any role involving children
• Ongoing supervision by senior staff
• A formal code of conduct that they sign and that we hold them to

No staff member or volunteer is ever alone with a child without another adult present. No staff member or volunteer may communicate with a sponsored child outside of officially recorded channels. Breaches of these rules are treated as gross misconduct.

Field workers involved in child verification and ongoing visits undergo safeguarding training as part of their onboarding with Children's Heaven Trust, with refresher sessions on a regular basis. Staff with access to Tier 2 or Tier 3 child data receive equivalent training before access is granted.

Each partner organisation has a named safeguarding lead whose responsibility includes maintaining records of concerns raised, actions taken, and lessons learned. Annual reviews of the safeguarding policy and its implementation are conducted jointly by Goodverse Foundation and Children's Heaven Trust.

We cooperate fully with the Social Welfare Department of Bangladesh, the police, and any other relevant authority on any matter involving the welfare of a child. We respond promptly to lawful requests for information. We provide records, we facilitate interviews, we comply with court orders.

We do not share information about a child with any party who does not have a legitimate role in protecting that child. Sponsors, journalists, researchers, and other interested parties do not have automatic access to child information regardless of their stated good intentions. Access is granted only where it serves the child's interests and only with appropriate consent.

A more detailed Child Protection Policy — covering the operational procedures, definitions, and reporting templates referenced above — is maintained internally by Children's Heaven Trust. A copy can be provided on request to verified press, regulatory bodies, partner organisations considering a tenant relationship, and donors with a substantiated interest.

Safeguarding is not a static policy. The understanding of child protection evolves; our threats evolve; the technology through which we operate evolves. We commit to:

• Reviewing this policy at minimum annually, and more frequently as needed
• Training all new staff and volunteers in our current safeguarding practice
• Auditing our partner orphanages regularly
• Learning from any safeguarding incident that does occur — within the limits of confidentiality — to prevent recurrence
• Listening to the children themselves, where age and circumstance allow

If you have a suggestion for how this policy or our safeguarding practice can be strengthened, we welcome it. Write to us.

This safeguarding policy is governed by the laws of Bangladesh. Children's Heaven Trust is registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau of Bangladesh under Registration No. iv-98/2021. We comply with Bangladesh law on child welfare, including the Children Act 2013 (Shishu Ain, 2013) and applicable regulations of the Department of Social Services.

We hold ourselves to international best practice on safeguarding regardless of jurisdiction, including the principles articulated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

OrphanGive operates in compliance with applicable Bangladesh law, including the Children Act, 2013 and other applicable child protection laws, and applicable Bangladesh law including the Cyber Security Ordinance, 2025 with respect to the handling of children's personal data.

Where this policy and applicable Bangladesh law diverge in any specific case, the law of Bangladesh prevails.

This policy is reviewed and updated at least annually, or sooner where operational changes, incidents, or regulatory changes require it. The current version is always available on this page; the "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.

For any safeguarding concern, urgent or otherwise:

Children's Heaven Trust & Goodverse Foundation
Operating OrphanGive
General email: support@orphangive.org

We respond to every safeguarding message within twenty-four hours. We treat every concern with the gravity it deserves.