Terms

The rules for using this site.

Our status

Donum Foundation's registration in Uganda is under way. Until it is complete, Donum Foundation is not yet registered as a company or an organisation, and nothing on this site says it is. When registration is complete, and whenever these terms change, we will email every member, and ask them to agree again before they continue.

Who we are, and agreeing to these terms

This site is run by Donum Foundation, in Uganda. These terms are the rules for using it. By using the site you agree to them, and we ask you to agree to them when you join. Our privacy page says what we keep about you, and why.

Who can use this site

Anyone may read this site and report a concern. Anyone may ask for help through the Need help form: if you are under 18, a parent or guardian must agree first. You must be 18 or over to hold an account. You need an account to write a story or a comment, to volunteer, or to apply to the Student Laptop Draw.

What you may post

Stories and comments must follow the story guidelines. A story may say what happened and the part somebody played, but not who they were or which group they belonged to. A story asks readers for nothing: not money, not pity, not help. A comment may ask questions and share advice, in public, but may not ask for money or things. A story about someone close to you needs their agreement. If they have died, their close family must be comfortable with it being told.

You keep ownership of what you write. You give Donum permission, free of charge, to publish it on this site and to translate it, and, for a story, to have it read aloud, recorded and shared on podcast apps, unless you tick "Do not record my story as audio". You can end that permission at any time: unpublish your story or delete your comment, and take a recording down in My account. Copies that other people have already made cannot be recalled.

What we refuse or remove

  • Contact details of any kind, and any attempt to move a conversation off this site.
  • Links.
  • Anything that identifies somebody who has not agreed to be identified.
  • Anything about a person under 18.
  • Saying who somebody was, or which group they belonged to, and calls for a change of policy.
  • In a story, asking readers for money, pity or help. In a comment, asking for money or things.
  • Threats, harassment, sexual content involving a child, encouraging somebody to hurt themselves, and attacking anyone for who they are.

How decisions are made

A story is published only after an editor has read it and you have approved the final text. A comment appears as soon as you post it. If it is flagged, it is hidden at once until a person reads it, and that person then puts it back, or removes it and writes down why. Only a person removes a comment or turns down a story. You can read every decision about your comments, and why, in My account. If you think a decision is wrong, write to support@donumfoundation.org.

Gifts

Donum Foundation does not take money yet, from anyone, until it is registered and has a bank account in its own name. Until then you can pledge a gift: a promise, not a debt, and nothing is paid. The rules below apply to gifts once Donum can receive them.

A gift is not an investment or a loan. Each payment can be refunded in full within seven working days of it (Monday to Friday, not counting public holidays in Uganda). After that it cannot be refunded. If a chance you gave to is withdrawn, we write to you and hold your gift for seven working days. You can ask for it back before then; after that, it goes to the general fund. If a project we plan to build cannot go ahead, because an approval it needs is refused or its building has not begun within five years, everyone who gave to it is offered their money back or a move to another planned project. The donation policy will say more once it is published.

No connection to other projects

Donum Foundation is a separate organisation with separate systems, separate data and separate users from any other project its founder is involved in. Buying anything from any of those projects does not fund Donum.

Asking for help, and reporting a concern

Sending the Need help form does not promise a chance: finding and checking one takes time, and not every message leads to one. Neither form is an emergency service. If you are in danger, contact the police or emergency services. Tell us only what you believe is true. If you ask for help for someone else, ask them first.

Using the site fairly

Do not try to get into any part of the site that is not yours, to break it, or to send it harmful code. Do not pretend to be somebody else, and do not use one account for more than one person.

What we can promise

We work to keep this site running and its words true, but we cannot promise it will always be available or free of mistakes. Stories and comments are their writers' own words, not advice from Donum: what worked for one person is a starting point, not advice for another. As far as the law allows, we are not responsible for loss caused by the site being unavailable, or by what somebody else wrote here.

Some pages link to other sites, such as the sources of our figures or a map. We do not run those sites and are not responsible for them.

Ending your account

You can delete your account at any time from your account area. If you break these terms, our team can stop your account from posting comments, or comments and stories, for a time or until the limit is lifted, and tells you why in My account. After a person has removed four of your comments, your account can no longer post stories or comments until our team lifts the limit. None of this stops you reading the site, downloading your data or deleting your account. Our team can also delete an account that breaks these terms.

The law and the courts

These terms follow the law of Uganda, and the courts of Uganda decide any dispute about them. If you live in another country, they do not take away any protection its law gives you.

Changes to these terms

When we change these terms, we change the date below. A change applies from that date, not to anything that happened before it. When we change them, we also email every member and ask them to agree again before they continue.

Last changed: 19 October 2026