Bangladesh is one of the world’s most densely populated countries, with more than 169 million people—more than six times the population of Australia—living in an area roughly two-thirds the size of Victoria.   

Record inflation, COVID and cyclones have left families such as 12-year-old Taslima and her mother, Grace, to survive by collecting firewood to sell at the local market. They couldn’t afford even the most basic household items.  

In my role as the South Asia Regional Lead for Baptist World Aid, I was delighted that Taslima and Grace were able to connect with one of our partner organisations in Bangladesh, right at the peak of the pandemic. Taslima was sponsored by an Australian family through our child sponsorship program, which meant she was able to go to school and her family could access their basic needs.  

Australians share some common ground with Taslima and Grace: the challenge of rising living costs, grappling with the impact of COVID, a desire for our kids to be happy and safe. Something else we share is their concern about how our images might be used online.  

“I am concerned about my photo being taken for Baptist World Aid’s child sponsorship program, and how it could be used online,” Taslima explained to me in a recent consultation session. “We are very concerned about how you will respect Taslima’s identity and privacy,” Grace added.  

We heard this message many times over from the children, youth and parents in our programs. Like us, they’re aware of the dangers the digital world poses for children and youth. And like us, they want safety measures in place to protect themselves (or for parents, to protect their children).  

Too often, the aid and development industry has been donor-centred, as those with money pull the strings on how funding is used. In our efforts to attract potential supporters, we’ve often favoured tactics that will have the most emotional impact, rather than what upholds a child’s agency and dignity.  

Having worked on aid programs in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities for 17 years, I’ve seen how rare it is for communities to be consulted on how their experiences are used to attract donors—rarer still for youth, children and families.  

Related: Baptist World Aid on changing the face of sponsorship

This is at odds with the participant-led approach to community development that is now considered best practice around the world. For 50 years, Baptist World Aid has been elevating the rights of children and youth through programs made possible by child sponsorship. Children in our programs are regularly asked to design and lead the programs they take part in. They’re familiar with being consulted, so when we recently sought their opinions on how their images are used to promote child sponsorship in Australia, I wasn’t surprised by their maturity in our discussions. Their perspectives on these matters were impressive, highlighting their awareness and active engagement in their own safety and well-being.  

Now that the children have spoken, we need to change the way we promote child sponsorship in Australia to ensure we’re at the forefront of protecting the rights of young people and lowering the risk of online exploitation. Specifically, this means Baptist World Aid will no longer display the faces of children awaiting sponsorship online but cover them with a ‘sticker’ to protect their identities until a sponsor signs up.  

So far, this move has been well received by our participants. Their responses during our consultation sessions have been enthusiastic and supportive.  “We love the idea of covering the photos online and on cards at churches and events,” Taslima said. “Surely it would enrich the dignity of children.”  

It’s vital we prioritise listening to the voices of all children, especially those who are most vulnerable. While displaying the faces of children online makes ‘selling’ child sponsorship to Australians easier to supporters, if we don’t change, we’re ignoring the voices of the very children we’re trying to support.