Code of Conduct

1. Who this code applies to

To anyone acting in the name of or on behalf of the AWAKEN DESTINY foundation (a Belgian private foundation) or the AWAKEN DESTINY association (a Cameroonian association and implementing partner):

board members and members · employees · volunteers · interns · consultants and contractors · implementing partners and their own staff · anyone taking part in a mission or visiting a site, including donors, journalists and accompanying persons.

Signing this code is a precondition for taking up any role or joining any mission. It is renewed annually.

2. What this code rests on

We work with people living in precarity. That situation creates an imbalance: we hold what they need, and they lack the means to contradict us. That imbalance is the source of every abuse possible in our sector.

This code exists so that such power is exercised with restraint, in view of others, and in a way that can be checked.

It is read together with the Child Protection Policy and the Policy on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment, which develop two of its chapters.

3. My commitments

3.1 Towards the people we support

I treat every person with respect, whatever their origin, ethnicity, nationality, sex, age, disability, religion, health status, sexual orientation or opinions.

I provide assistance according to the programme's written criteria, without preference, without favour and without anything given in return.

I never demand, solicit or accept anything in exchange for assistance: no money, no goods, no services, no favours.

I preserve people's dignity in my words, my actions, my photographs and my accounts. I do not display them to elicit pity.

I listen to comments and complaints, and I pass them on even when they reflect badly on us.

I respect everyone's religious and political convictions and seek to convert no one.

3.2 Towards my colleagues

I contribute to a safe working environment, free from violence, harassment, intimidation and discrimination.

I do not make remarks or circulate content that is degrading, sexist, racist or humiliating, including under cover of humour.

I exercise the authority entrusted to me without abuse, favouritism or pressure.

3.3 Towards the organisation

I comply with the statutes, internal policies and procedures, in particular the disbursement procedure.

I use funds, vehicles, premises, equipment and communication tools exclusively for the purposes of our activities.

I account for every expense incurred on the organisation's behalf.

I declare any personal, family or economic interest liable to conflict with my role, and I withdraw from the decisions concerned.

I speak on behalf of the organisation only where authorised to do so.

I protect the personal data I access and use it for no other purpose.

3.4 Towards the law

I comply with the laws of the country where I work, and with security, movement and site access rules.

I report without delay any accident, security incident or dangerous situation.

4. What I undertake never to do

4.1 Harm to persons

• Any sexual activity with a person under eighteen. Ignorance of their age is not a defence. Their consent is irrelevant.
• Any exchange of money, employment, goods, services or assistance for sexual favours, including where the assistance was due in any event.
• Any sexual relationship arising from the improper use of my rank, function or position.
• Using prostitution during a mission or a work-related trip.
• Any unwanted conduct, remark, message or content of a sexual nature.
• Any physical violence, corporal punishment, threat or humiliation.
• Any discriminatory treatment in access to assistance, recruitment or training.

4.2 Children

• Being alone with a child out of sight of other adults.
• Transporting a child alone, accommodating them, or maintaining a private relationship with them outside the organisation's channels.
• Photographing or filming a child without the written consent of their parent or guardian and the child's own assent.
• Giving them money or a gift on an individual basis.

4.3 Financial integrity

• Misappropriating, taking or borrowing funds or goods, even temporarily and even intending to return them.
• Soliciting, accepting or offering a bribe, a kickback or a facilitation payment, whatever its characterisation under local law.
• Accepting a gift, invitation or advantage from a supplier, candidate or beneficiary, beyond a token item of courtesy which must be declared.
• Falsifying, backdating or destroying a document, receipt, register or accounting record.
• Awarding a contract, job or form of assistance to a relative or close contact without prior declaration and a collective decision.
• Transferring organisation funds to a personal account, including my own.

4.4 Imagery, data and communication

• Publishing images or information about a person we support without their written consent.
• Keeping images of beneficiaries taken during activities on a personal device.
• Disclosing confidential information, a report, or the identity of a survivor.
• Speaking publicly on behalf of the organisation without authorisation, including on my own social media.

4.5 Medical acts and care

This clause applies in all circumstances, including to team members holding a health qualification.

• I perform no medical, paramedical, care or diagnostic act, and I do not supervise the quality of care provided to beneficiaries.
• I dispense no medicines, issue no prescriptions and give no therapeutic advice.
• I provide no psychological or therapeutic care. Listening and moral support are permitted; psychological follow-up is not.
• Clinical acts are the exclusive province of practitioners authorised to practise in Cameroon, under the responsibility and on the premises of partner health facilities.
• My role is limited to identifying needs, informing, accompanying and referring to those facilities.
• In a life-threatening emergency, I provide first aid within the limits of my competence and immediately alert the relevant services.

4.6 Other

• Consuming alcohol or any psychoactive substance during activities, or attending them under their influence.
• Carrying or transporting a weapon.
• Driving an organisation vehicle without authorisation, or in breach of safety rules.
• Engaging in partisan or electoral activity within our activities or using the organisation's identity.
• Retaliating against anyone who has reported a breach.

5. Reporting

I undertake to report any breach of this code, including by a colleague, a manager, a board member or a partner, and including where I only have a doubt.

Safeguarding focal point: Élise EBOKOLO (foundation headquarters, Belgium) — [email protected] — +32 478 13 02 11 or via the online form at https://awakendestiny.org/en/report

Anonymous reporting: the same form includes an anonymity option.

A report made in good faith cannot expose me to any retaliation, sanction, sidelining or pressure, even if it ultimately proves unfounded. An act of retaliation is itself serious misconduct.

Staying silent about a breach I know of is itself a breach.

6. Consequences of a breach

Depending on the seriousness of the facts:

These measures apply without prejudice to civil or criminal proceedings, and to the obligation to repay misappropriated sums.

7. Scope of my undertaking

This code applies throughout my collaboration, including outside working hours where my conduct calls into question my fitness to work with vulnerable people or damages the organisation's reputation.

The confidentiality and data protection obligations continue to bind me after my collaboration ends.

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Code adopted by the board on 31/07/2026. Version 1.0. Contact: [email protected].