Our policies

Purpose. To keep children safe from any harm connected with Dhana Aid’s work.

Our core rule. Dhana Aid’s Director, volunteers and anyone acting for us have no direct contact with children. Our current work, providing power stations to orphanages, does not require any contact with children. We work only with adult staff of orphanages and care homes. Deliveries are handed to adult staff, never to children.

Rules.

• We do not visit children’s rooms, run activities with children, or arrange to meet any child, in person or online.
• We avoid photographing or filming children. If a real child connected with our work appears in any photo or video we take or publish, their face is blurred so they cannot be recognised, and only with the orphanage’s permission. Our photos otherwise show equipment, buildings or stock images. Pictures of children on our website and materials are illustrative stock images of models, not children we work with.
• We never publish a child’s name, face, location or any detail that could identify them.
• We do not collect information about individual children. Requests from orphanages describe the institution’s needs only.
• Any concern that a child is at risk, raised with us or noticed by us, is reported the same day to the orphanage’s management and, where a child may be in danger, to the police (102) or the Children’s Service of the local authority. If the concern involves the orphanage’s staff or management, we report directly to the police or the Children’s Service instead.
• Partner orphanages confirm in our agreement that they have their own child protection arrangements.

If our work changes. Any activity that would involve contact with children must first be approved under Policy 15 and is not permitted under this policy.

Commitment. Dhana Aid prohibits sexual exploitation and abuse by anyone acting for us, and accepts the standards in the UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin ST/SGB/2003/13. In particular:

• Sexual exploitation and abuse are serious misconduct and grounds for ending any role with Dhana Aid.
• Sexual activity with anyone under 18 is prohibited, whatever the local age of consent. Mistaken belief about age is no defence.
• Exchanging money, aid, goods or favours for sex or sexual favours is prohibited, including with sex workers.
• Sexual relationships between anyone acting for Dhana Aid and people receiving our help are prohibited.
• Aid is never conditional on anything other than need.
• Anyone acting for Dhana Aid must report any concern or suspicion of sexual exploitation or abuse.

How we meet the UN’s eight standards.

• Policy: this document, signed by everyone acting for us.
• Contracts: our partner agreements include a clause prohibiting sexual exploitation and abuse. Any supplier contract we sign will include it too.
• Vetting: anyone joining us gives references and signs a self-declaration that they have never been sanctioned, or left a job while under investigation, for sexual misconduct (Policy 13).
• Training: everyone acting for us completes PSEA training before starting, and yearly after that. The Director completed the UN course “Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse” (provided by UNHCR) on 14 November 2026. View certificate →
• Reporting: anyone, including children and communities, can report safely and confidentially (Policy 4).
• Assistance and referral: we refer survivors, with their consent, to local support services and the national hotlines.
• Investigations: allegations are investigated under Policy 4, using an independent investigator where needed.
• Corrective action: we act on every finding and keep a record. No allegation has been made to date.

Everyone acting for Dhana Aid agrees to:

• Follow Policies 1 and 2, including no direct contact with children.
• Treat everyone with respect, without harassment, bullying or discrimination.
• Use the charity’s money and property only for its purposes, and keep honest records.
• Never accept gifts, payments or favours that could influence a decision (Policy 5).
• Declare any conflict of interest (Policy 7).
• Keep personal information confidential (Policy 9).
• Never be under the influence of alcohol or drugs while acting for Dhana Aid.
• Speak honestly about our work, and never claim help we have not yet given.
• Report any concern under Policy 4.

Breaches may lead to the end of a person’s role and, where the law is broken, a report to the authorities.

Who can report. Anyone: donors, partner orphanages, suppliers, volunteers, members of the public, and children.

How. Email info@dhanaaid.org, or use the “Report a concern” form on this page. You may report anonymously.

Concerns about the Director. Reports sent by email or through our website are read by the Director. Dhana Aid is run by its founder and Director alone, so there is no one inside the charity independent of the Director. A concern about the Director should therefore be reported directly to an outside body: the police (102), the Children’s Service of the local authority where a child may be at risk, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, or the organisation funding the work concerned. Dhana Aid will cooperate fully with any such report. When Dhana Aid appoints an independent contact, their details will be published here.

What we do. We acknowledge reports within 5 working days where contact details are given, keep them confidential, look into them fairly and promptly, tell the person who reported what we have done where it is safe to do so, and keep a record. Concerns about children’s safety or a crime go to the authorities without delay.

Protection. No one who reports a concern in good faith will be treated unfairly for doing so.

• Dhana Aid has zero tolerance for fraud, bribery and corruption.
• We never offer or accept bribes or facilitation payments. Anyone acting for Dhana Aid does not accept gifts, hospitality or favours of any value from suppliers, partners, or anyone doing or seeking business with us, and never accepts cash or gift cards. If refusing an unexpected gift would cause offence, it is accepted on behalf of Dhana Aid, recorded, and used for the charity’s work. Donations to the charity are not gifts to individuals and follow Policy 6.
• Every payment is supported by an invoice or receipt and recorded.
• Suspected fraud is reported under Policy 4, investigated, and reported to funders and the authorities where required.
• Money lost through fraud is recovered where possible, and funders are told openly.

• We follow Ukrainian law on financial monitoring and the rules of the banks and payment services we use.
• We do not knowingly accept money from, or give support to, any person or organisation on the sanctions lists of Ukraine, Canada, the United States, the United Nations, the European Union or the United Kingdom, or connected with terrorism or crime.
• We check suppliers and major donors against these sanctions lists before significant transactions, and record the check.
• For a single gift of €10,000 or more (or the equivalent in crypto), we may ask the donor who they are and where the money comes from. If a large crypto gift arrives anonymously, we hold it unused and record it, and only use it once we are satisfied it is not from a sanctioned or criminal source. If we cannot be satisfied, we return it to the sending address or report it as required.
• We may decline or return any gift whose source is unclear.
• Ukrainian law does not yet allow charities to hold crypto. Crypto gifts for Dhana Aid’s work are therefore received in a dedicated wallet managed by the Director on the charity’s behalf. The wallet is used only for Dhana Aid’s work and is never mixed with any other funds, including the Director’s own; personal gifts to the founder use a separate wallet (Policy 7). Crypto is converted to euros through regulated services when needed and used to buy equipment directly from the supplier. Every gift received and every purchase is recorded.

• Anyone acting for Dhana Aid declares any personal, family or financial interest that could affect, or appear to affect, a decision.
• The Director keeps personal fundraisers clearly labelled as personal, and records how money raised through them is used for Dhana Aid’s work, with receipts.
• No supplier, partner or recipient is chosen because of a personal relationship.
• Declarations are recorded and reviewed yearly.
• The Director takes no payment from donations; his salary and its taxes are paid from his own funds. Any future payment to the Director from charity funds would be disclosed to funders first.
• Personal support for the founder. Members of the public may give personal gifts to the founder through the Support the founder page. These gifts are the founder’s own money, separate from Dhana Aid’s funds, and are declared by the founder for personal tax as required. To prevent any conflict of interest:
• The founder does not accept personal gifts from anyone in Ukraine.
• The founder does not accept personal gifts from suppliers, partner orphanages, anyone requesting help from Dhana Aid, or anyone doing or seeking business with Dhana Aid. Any such gift is returned.
• By giving through the Support the founder page, including by crypto, the giver confirms that neither of the above applies to them, and that they are not subject to sanctions by Ukraine, Canada, the United States, the United Nations, the European Union or the United Kingdom.
• Personal gifts never influence any Dhana Aid decision, and no one receives anything from Dhana Aid in return.
• The founder keeps a record of personal gifts over €500, including who gave them, available to funders on request.
• Personal gifts are kept separate from charity funds, with separate accounts and a separate crypto wallet.

• We allocate help by need alone, without regard to nationality, ethnicity, religion, language, sex, political views, disability or any other status.
• Requests are assessed against the same criteria and recorded.
• We treat everyone we work with fairly and with respect.

• We follow the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection” and, for people in the EU, the GDPR.
• We collect only what we need: for example names and emails through our website forms.
• We use personal data only to respond, confirm gifts and send updates people ask for. We never sell it.
• Data is stored securely, with access limited to those who need it, and deleted when no longer needed.
• Anyone can ask to see, correct or delete their data by writing to info@dhanaaid.org.
• Messages sent through our website forms reach us by email through a form service (Web3Forms). Requests from orphanages are saved in a private Google Sheet that only Dhana Aid can open.
• Our website uses Google Analytics and Google Ads measurement only if you accept cookies in our cookie banner. If you decline, Google receives anonymous signals only, with no cookies. You can change your choice at any time through “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page.
• Questions typed into the website’s chat assistant are sent to an AI service to produce an answer. Please don’t type personal or sensitive information into it.
• We keep form messages and records only as long as we need them: up to 3 years, unless the law or a funder requires longer.
• We never use these tools to identify visitors, and never sell or share data for advertising.
• We hold no personal information about individual children (Policy 1).

• Money given to Dhana Aid directly, such as bank transfers, goes through the charity’s registered accounts and is recorded. Two kinds of support work differently:
  • Crypto gifts (Policy 6) are held in a dedicated wallet that the Director manages on the charity’s behalf, because Ukrainian law does not yet allow charities to hold crypto.
  • The founder’s personal fundraisers (Policy 7) are meant to benefit Dhana Aid, but by their very nature, the money raised is credited to the founder’s own bank account. It is used to buy equipment for Dhana Aid’s work.
  In both cases, equipment is bought directly from the supplier, delivered to Dhana Aid and, where possible, recorded as Dhana Aid’s property. The receipts are kept and shown to donors.
• We keep a register of every power station and donated device: serial number, where it is, and its agreement.
• Every payment has supporting documents and is approved by the Director.
• For purchases over €1,000, when we buy through a supplier or dealer rather than directly from the manufacturer, we compare at least two quotes and record why we chose one. When we buy directly from the manufacturer at its published price, one quote is enough.
• Donations given for a purpose are used for that purpose.
• We prepare annual accounts as required by Ukrainian law and share financial information with funders on request.

• Every power station or item allocated is covered by a written agreement with the orphanage’s management.
• The agreement sets out the allocation period (6 months or a year, extendable), care of the equipment, and its return in the original box for reallocation.
• The orphanage confirms it has its own child protection arrangements, and agrees to our PSEA clause.
• Dhana Aid remains the owner of the equipment. Orphanages are never charged.
• Requests are checked before allocation. Addresses and contacts are never published.

• We follow the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.
• We consider the risks our help could create, such as safety, dignity and privacy, and avoid them.
• We tell the truth about our work: we describe what we are working to provide, and never claim results we have not achieved.

Comes into force when volunteers take part in programme work.

• Volunteers give two references and sign the PSEA self-declaration and the code of conduct.
• Volunteers complete PSEA and safeguarding training before starting, and yearly after that.
• Volunteers are told the no-direct-contact rule and how to report concerns.

Comes into force with our first delivery.

• Before any trip, check official security information and air-raid alerts, and plan routes and shelters.
• Share the route and expected return time with a named contact, and check in on arrival and return.
• Do not travel into areas under active fighting. Trips near the front line need an armoured vehicle and protective equipment.
• Deliveries are handed to adult staff at the orphanage; no contact with children (Policy 1).

Dhana Aid does not work directly with children. Any future activity involving contact with children would need a full safeguarding risk assessment, vetting and training of everyone involved, an independent safeguarding review, and a revised Policy 1, before it begins.

Comes into force if Dhana Aid hires anyone besides the Director. Fair, open recruitment; two references including a check for sexual misconduct; the PSEA self-declaration; and training before starting.

Comes into force as our work grows. We favour reusable equipment (power stations are reallocated, not discarded), keep packaging for reuse, and dispose of batteries and electronics through proper recycling.