We listen before we help

We ask local people and community organisations what would actually be useful. We support locally led efforts and follow their priorities.

Sometimes that means volunteering. Sometimes it means money, requested supplies purchased locally, or sharing a skill. We recognise that hosting visitors can create work, and we accept when our involvement isn’t needed.

We make commitments we can keep

Before contributing, we agree privately on our budget, available time, and boundaries. We check who we’re working with, how contributions will be used, and whether our involvement is appropriate and permitted.

We won’t promise ongoing support we can’t sustain, replace paid local work with our volunteering, or take on tasks beyond our abilities. We don’t participate in orphanage tourism or short-term orphanage volunteering.

Help never depends on being filmed

Nobody owes us their story, an interview, a photograph, or a grateful reaction in exchange for support.

Declining to appear in our content will never affect our contribution. We keep giving and filming as separate decisions, with the camera off by default.

What we may film

When people freely agree and filming is appropriate, we may share:

• Our own preparation, participation, and reflections.
• Community projects and public activities, with the necessary permissions.
• Local organisers explaining their work in their own words.
• Consenting adults sharing what they choose to share.
• Practical ways viewers can support a verified organisation.

Before recording, we explain where the content will appear, that it may earn revenue, and that public material can be copied or shared beyond our control. We seek permission in a language people understand. An organiser’s approval does not replace an individual’s consent.

What we won’t film or publish

We won’t:

• Stage generosity, recreate reactions, or ask anyone to perform gratitude.
• Make cash handouts or someone’s reaction to receiving help into entertainment.
• Film someone in distress or during a private crisis.
• Reveal someone’s housing situation, health information, financial circumstances, or other sensitive details without their explicit agreement and a careful assessment of possible harm.
• Publish identifiable images of children receiving assistance.
• Reveal private homes, shelters, sensitive locations, or identifying details that could put anyone at risk.
• Use humiliating images, stereotypes, or sensational titles and thumbnails.
• Present ourselves as rescuers or claim responsibility for work a community has built.

Permission alone doesn’t make every story appropriate to publish. If we’re unsure, we leave it out.

We respect people’s control over their stories

When someone shares a sensitive personal story, we offer them the opportunity to check their contribution and identifying details before publication.

They can change their mind before publication. After publication, we take concerns seriously and work promptly to remove or change material on channels we control. We cannot guarantee removal of copies others have made.

Our own experience of homelessness is ours to discuss. It does not give us permission to tell anyone else’s story.

We’re clear about money and relationships

We don’t disclose our private giving budget or promise help to everyone who asks. Boundaries allow us to contribute consistently.

If we invite viewers to donate, we direct them to a verified organisation’s official channel. We disclose relevant sponsorships, affiliate relationships, and any financial arrangement connected to a featured project.

Buying locally and paying fairly are part of being responsible visitors. We don’t describe every purchase as charity or exaggerate the impact of our contributions.

We keep learning

We ask whether our involvement was useful, welcome feedback, and change our approach when needed. If we make a mistake, we acknowledge it and take practical steps to address it.

Giving back is part of how we want to live, whether or not it becomes content. The people we meet matter more than the footage we could bring home.