Caritas Gambia

Ethics and Safeguarding

Children shelter under leaves during a rainstorm in Butembo, DRC. The area was once heavily affected by Ebola but is now under control with support from Caritas. Credit: Caritas Internationalis Archive, Tommy Trenchard, 2019

Ethics and Safeguarding

Our commitment

We’re committed to protecting the dignity, safety and rights of every person we serve, as well as supporting the staff and volunteers who make our work possible.

Ethics and Safeguarding are at the heart of how we serve. We believe abuse and exploitation have no place, and every person has the right to be safe, respected and supported.

We have policies, systems and actions in place to strengthen this commitment, and where weaknesses are identified, we act with urgency, transparency and humanity. Our approach is survivor-centred, prioritising the needs of victims and survivors.

Our values

We stand for:

  • Honesty, transparency and accountability
  • Supporting survivors with humility and action
  • Openness to engage with factual accuracy
  • Determination to uphold the very highest standards in safeguarding
  • Embracing scrutiny and improving systems to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse, emotional harm, bullying and harassment
  • Commitment to addressing gender and other inequalities
  • Determination to listen and act where there are concerns and complaints, and to support those who raise them
  • Following Catholic Social Teaching in safeguarding, protection and integrity work
  • Informed and rigorous recruitment of staff

We believe in the intrinsic dignity and worth of every person. Our faith calls us to serve all in need regardless of their ethnicity, sex, age, religion or beliefs to achieve transformation. We seek to celebrate diversity, and the strength it gives us, as we come together and seek justice for all. We are guided by what impact our actions have on the dignity of the human person. We also ask how the dignity of all persons is realized and expressed in political, social, legal and economic structures.

We commit ourselves to combatting the dehumanising poverty that robs people of their dignity and humanity. We are guided by Christian teachings to work for the liberation of the oppressed and an equitable sharing of the gifts of the earth, helping the marginalised to be responsible for their own development. We take up the cause of the people experiencing poverty as our own, putting ourselves alongside them.

We believe in one human family. The fruits of solidarity are peace, justice and human development. Through our mission to enhance solidarity among peoples and communities, we express a firm determination and commitment to the common good seeking to create a culture of encounter, and walking with the “other” in jointly committing to care for the most vulnerable. We choose to think and act in terms of community (Fratelli Tutti, 116).

Solidarity is a universal value binding us together in the common vision of establishing a world where all human beings receive what rightly belongs to them as sons and daughters of God. Solidarity is a value inherent in Church organisations, and also shared by many, including ecumenical, interreligious and all people of good will.

We seek to ensure that power, decisions and responsibility are exercised at the local level wherever possible, and that our efforts as a Confederation maximise and build upon local capabilities and resources.

Enacting the principle of subsidiarity through the promotion and strengthening of national, diocesan and parish Caritas is central to the Confederation’s way of working, as emphasized by Pope Benedict XVI in the Motu proprio Intima Ecclesiae natura.

In the spirit of synodality, we value community-led programmes and participatory leadership at all levels, in order to ensure the rightful ownership of projects and decision making processes by local communities. All Member Organisations must abide by this key principle by engaging in collective actions and participation in decision making, through mutual support, synergy and collaboration, instead of competition and duplication.

“How can we profess faith in Christ when we close our eyes to all the wounds inflicted by abuse?….Each of us and our brothers and sisters at home must take personal responsibility for bringing healing to this wound in the Body of Christ and make the commitment to do everything in our power to see that children are safe in our communities.”

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Former President, Caritas Internationalis

We believe in the intrinsic dignity and worth of every person. Our faith calls us to serve all in need regardless of their ethnicity, sex, age, religion or beliefs to achieve transformation. We seek to celebrate diversity, and the strength it gives us, as we come together and seek justice for all. We are guided by what impact our actions have on the dignity of the human person. We also ask how the dignity of all persons is realized and expressed in political, social, legal and economic structures.

We commit ourselves to combatting the dehumanising poverty that robs people of their dignity and humanity. We are guided by Christian teachings to work for the liberation of the oppressed and an equitable sharing of the gifts of the earth, helping the marginalised to be responsible for their own development. We take up the cause of the people experiencing poverty as our own, putting ourselves alongside them.

We believe in one human family. The fruits of solidarity are peace, justice and human development. Through our mission to enhance solidarity among peoples and communities, we express a firm determination and commitment to the common good seeking to create a culture of encounter, and walking with the “other” in jointly committing to care for the most vulnerable. We choose to think and act in terms of community (Fratelli Tutti, 116).

Solidarity is a universal value binding us together in the common vision of establishing a world where all human beings receive what rightly belongs to them as sons and daughters of God. Solidarity is a value inherent in Church organisations, and also shared by many, including ecumenical, interreligious and all people of good will.

We seek to ensure that power, decisions and responsibility are exercised at the local level wherever possible, and that our efforts as a Confederation maximise and build upon local capabilities and resources.

Enacting the principle of subsidiarity through the promotion and strengthening of national, diocesan and parish Caritas is central to the Confederation’s way of working, as emphasized by Pope Benedict XVI in the Motu proprio Intima Ecclesiae natura.

In the spirit of synodality, we value community-led programmes and participatory leadership at all levels, in order to ensure the rightful ownership of projects and decision making processes by local communities. All Member Organisations must abide by this key principle by engaging in collective actions and participation in decision making, through mutual support, synergy and collaboration, instead of competition and duplication.

Children and Vulnerable Adults Safeguarding Policy

Caritas is committed to creating and maintaining an environment which promotes its core values and prevents abuse and exploitation of all people.

Partner With Us to Build Stronger Communities

Your support helps expand access to health, education, food security and economic opportunity for vulnerable families across The Gambia.