Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

The Incorporated Trustees of Skilled Magnets Initiative for Reliable Development ("SMIRD", "we") is a registered non-profit organisation (registration no. 9883985). We are responsible for the personal information described in this policy.

Contact: info.smird@gmail.com · Ibidun Estate, Beside Gloryland International School, Upper Gaa-Akanbi, Off Pipeline Road, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.

2. What we collect

We only collect information you choose to give us, plus the minimum technical data needed to run a secure website.

• Contact form: your name, email address, organisation (optional), topic and message.
• Volunteer application: your name, email address, phone number (optional), location, areas of interest, availability, preferred way of volunteering, a description of your skills and motivation, and confirmation that you are 18 or older.
• Technical data: our hosting and security provider processes your IP address and browser information to deliver the website and protect it from abuse. Our spam check (Cloudflare Turnstile) analyses signals from your browser to tell people from automated programmes.
• Your language preference, stored in a small cookie (see our Cookie Policy).

We do not use advertising or analytics trackers, and we never sell personal information.

3. Why we use it

• To reply to your message or enquiry, with your consent.
• To assess your volunteer application and contact you about suitable roles, with your consent.
• To keep the website secure and prevent spam and abuse, which is in our legitimate interest and yours.
• To meet legal, regulatory and safeguarding obligations.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by emailing us. This does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it.

4. Who we share it with

Only authorised SMIRD staff and Directors can read the information you send. We use carefully chosen service providers who process it on our behalf and only on our instructions:

• Cloudflare: website hosting, security and spam protection.
• Supabase: secure database storage for messages and applications.

We disclose information to authorities only where the law requires it or where it is necessary to protect someone from serious harm.

5. International transfers

Our service providers may store or process information in countries other than your own. Where this happens, we rely on providers that apply recognised security standards and contractual safeguards for personal data.

6. How long we keep it

• Contact messages: up to 24 months after our last correspondence with you.
• Volunteer applications: up to 24 months if your application does not proceed. If you volunteer with us, for as long as you volunteer and afterwards only as long as the law or our safeguarding duties require.
• Technical and security records: for the short periods set by our providers.

When information is no longer needed, we delete it or make it anonymous.

7. How we protect it

All traffic to this website is encrypted (HTTPS). Information is stored in a secured database that the public website can add to but cannot read back. Access is limited to authorised people, and sensitive information receives extra protection, as required by Article 49 of our constitution.

8. Your rights

Depending on the law that applies to you, you have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct or delete it;
• object to, or ask us to limit, how we use it;
• receive it in a portable format;
• withdraw your consent at any time.

To use any of these rights, email info.smird@gmail.com. We will respond within one month. If you are not satisfied, you may complain to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission or to the data protection authority in your country.

9. Children

This website is not intended for children to submit information. Volunteers must be 18 or older. Information about children who take part in our programmes is handled separately, with appropriate consent and under our Safeguarding Policy.

10. Other websites

Our website links to other sites, such as our research questionnaires and social media pages. Those sites have their own privacy policies, and this policy does not cover them.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. The date at the top shows when it last changed.