Child safeguarding.
Our commitment to the children in our care, the standards every staff member and visitor agrees to, and the reporting routes for any concern. This is the most important non-financial document on this site.
Last reviewed: [PLACEHOLDER — DATE] · Designated safeguarding officer: [PLACEHOLDER — NAME]
1. Statement of commitment
[PLACEHOLDER — JH legal review required] Jesus Helpers Children's Home is committed to safeguarding every child in our care from harm — physical, emotional, sexual, or spiritual. This commitment is grounded in James 1:27 and expressed in operational practice across every staff member, volunteer, and visitor.
Every child in our care has the right to be safe, to be heard, and to be believed when they raise a concern. This policy describes how we make that right real.
2. Policy scope
[PLACEHOLDER — JH legal review required] This policy applies to all children in the care of Jesus Helpers Children's Home, in every location and at every time, including:
- All children resident at any of the three homes (Nyandarua, Uthiru, Nakuru)
- Children attending JH-run programmes outside the homes
- Children in transit to/from school, healthcare, or family visits
It binds: full-time staff, part-time staff, casual workers, board members, volunteers (in-person and remote), donors and partners while on JH premises, and any contractor working on JH property.
3. Code of conduct
[PLACEHOLDER — JH legal review required] Every adult interacting with JH children agrees to the following standards:
- No adult is ever alone with a child in a closed space without a second adult present.
- Physical contact is appropriate to the child's age and the public context (no laps for children over 5, no closed-door embraces).
- No private gifts or money to a single child.
- No private digital contact (WhatsApp, Instagram DMs, personal email) with any child.
- No photographs of children without explicit, written, current guardian consent on file.
- No identifying information about a child shared outside JH's secured systems.
Breach of any of the above is grounds for immediate suspension pending investigation, regardless of intent.
4. Recruitment & screening
[PLACEHOLDER — JH legal review required] JH applies the following minimum standards to every staff member and in-person volunteer:
- Two written references checked, at least one professional
- Police clearance certificate (DCI Kenya equivalent)
- Identification verified against photo ID
- Three-month probation on all roles involving direct child contact
- Annual safeguarding refresher training
5. Reporting concerns or disclosures
[PLACEHOLDER — JH legal review required] Anyone — staff, volunteer, partner, donor, child, or external observer — who has a safeguarding concern about a JH child contacts the designated safeguarding officer (see section 10) directly. The officer responds within 24 hours and follows the documented disclosure protocol.
Where the concern involves the designated officer, reports go to the JH Board chair (contact details on the About page) and to the Kenyan Department of Children Services.
JH never asks the reporter to investigate. JH takes the report, protects the child, escalates where required, and informs the reporter of the outcome.
6. Photography & digital media protocol
[PLACEHOLDER — JH legal review required] Photographs of children are governed by the following protocol:
- Written consent from the child's legal guardian, renewed annually
- For children over 12, the child's own informed consent is also required
- No images depicting children in vulnerable states (illness, distress, undress, bathing) regardless of consent
- Public-facing surfaces show first name + year only — never surnames or exact birth dates
- Where consent is unavailable, the child is photographed from behind, side-profile, or hands-and-environment only
The Yutie team and the JH editor jointly review every public photograph before publish.
7. Online safety for children
[PLACEHOLDER — JH legal review required] JH children's exposure to the internet is supervised. Public-facing JH systems do not display surnames, exact birth dates, school names, or locations precise enough to identify a child off the JH premises.
Older children using devices for schoolwork operate under JH's acceptable-use policy and content filtering.
8. Visiting protocol
[PLACEHOLDER — JH legal review required] Donors, partners, and prospective volunteers visiting any JH home agree to:
- Visit by appointment only, signed in and signed out at the office
- Accompanied at all times by a JH staff member
- No photography of children except by JH-approved photographers with consent on file
- No private contact with any child, including private gifts or money
- Read and acknowledge this policy in advance of arrival
9. Annual review
[PLACEHOLDER — JH legal review required] This policy is reviewed every twelve months by the JH Board, with input from a Kenyan child protection professional. The review date and reviewer are recorded at the top of this page.
10. Designated safeguarding officer
[PLACEHOLDER — JH legal review required] The designated safeguarding officer for Jesus Helpers Children's Home is:
Name: [PLACEHOLDER — NAME]
Role: [PLACEHOLDER — ROLE]
Email: safeguarding@jesushelpers.org
Phone: [PLACEHOLDER — DIRECT LINE]
For urgent concerns out of hours, contact the Kenyan Department of Children Services on [PLACEHOLDER — DCS HELPLINE].
A printable PDF of this policy will be available here once the Phase 1.A scaffold copy is approved by JH's Kenyan child protection professional and Kenyan lawyer.