1. Information we collect
Depending on how you use CEN Africa, we may collect account information such as your name, email address, password hash, profile image, authentication/session information, and records showing when and which version of the CEN Africa Statement of Faith and Terms you accepted; learner profile information; educator qualifications, subjects, languages, ministry or professional background, references, verification responses, and submitted verification files; institution information and representative details; host verification and accommodation information; mission applications and communications; course activity, progress, completion information, and learning reflections; billing name, transaction identifier, purchase history, course purchased, payment status, and refund records when a payment feature is used; and information you choose to submit in forms or messages.
Because affirmation of a Christian Statement of Faith can reveal religious belief or affiliation, CEN Africa treats that acceptance record as sensitive account information and uses it only as reasonably necessary for membership eligibility, governance, integrity of the Christian network, recordkeeping, and legal compliance.
We may also receive technical and security information necessary to operate the service, such as IP address, browser or device information, timestamps, login attempts, session identifiers, cookies or similar technologies, and server or security logs.
2. Public and private information
Some information is intended to be public, such as institution directory profiles, published mission opportunities, and profile information expressly shown to other network participants. Other information—such as passwords, private verification evidence, background-check information, unpublished host evidence, and internal review notes—is intended for restricted access and is not made public merely because it is submitted.
Do not upload passports, national ID numbers, Social Security numbers, financial-account credentials, or other highly sensitive identifiers unless CEN Africa specifically provides an approved secure process and clearly requests them.
3. How we use information
We use information to operate accounts and dashboards; confirm required membership and doctrinal acknowledgments; provide the directory and learning services; review institutions, educators, hosts, and opportunities; facilitate applications and introductions; maintain learning progress; prevent abuse and fraud; provide support; improve the service; enforce our Terms & Conditions and Statement of Faith; protect users and the network; comply with legal obligations; and communicate about account or service matters.
4. How information may be shared
We may share information with other users when necessary for a feature you choose to use—for example, making a public institution profile visible, providing a relevant educator profile to a host, or sending an application to a hosting institution. We may also use service providers that help us host, secure, store, communicate, or operate the website.
We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with law, court process, or lawful government requests; protect rights, safety, and security; investigate fraud or abuse; or respond to an emergency. We may also transfer information as part of a merger, reorganization, or transfer of the service, subject to applicable law.
CEN Africa does not currently sell or rent personal information to advertisers for monetary consideration, and the website is not currently operated as a behavioral-advertising marketplace.
5. Third-party services and external course providers
CEN Africa links to external institutions, course providers, ministries, and other websites. If you leave CEN Africa or create an account with another provider, that provider’s privacy practices apply to information it collects. CEN Africa does not receive private course-provider passwords and cannot automatically see activity inside a third-party learning system unless an authorized integration is implemented and disclosed.
When payments are enabled, an approved payment processor may collect and process payment-card or financial-account information under its own privacy and security terms. CEN Africa should receive transaction and payment-status information needed for enrollment, accounting, support, refunds, and fraud prevention, but should not directly store full payment-card numbers.
6. International users and data transfers
CEN Africa is a global network. Information may be accessed, processed, or stored in countries different from the country where you live, including the United States, and privacy laws may differ. Where applicable law requires specific safeguards or notices for international transfers, CEN Africa will take reasonable steps to provide them.
7. Retention
We retain information for as long as reasonably needed to operate the account or service, maintain legitimate records of applications and verification decisions, resolve disputes, protect safety and security, enforce agreements, and meet legal obligations. Retention periods may vary by data type. When information is no longer reasonably needed, we may delete, de-identify, or securely dispose of it, subject to lawful retention requirements and backup cycles.
8. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the information we handle. However, no website, transmission, database, or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure. Users are responsible for protecting their passwords, using appropriate device security, and notifying CEN Africa if they suspect unauthorized account access.
9. Your choices and privacy rights
You may be able to review or update profile information through your account. Depending on where you live, applicable law may provide rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, portability, or information about certain uses or disclosures of personal information. Those rights may be subject to legal exceptions, identity verification, and retention obligations.
Privacy requests should be made through CEN Africa’s published contact or account-support channel. We may need to verify your identity before completing a request.
10. Children’s privacy
CEN Africa connects Christian educational institutions, including K–12 schools, but the general website account system is not intended for children under 13 to independently create accounts or submit personal information. We do not knowingly seek to collect personal information online from a child under 13 without a legally appropriate parental-consent process. If we learn that such information was submitted without required consent, we may delete or restrict it as appropriate.
Users under the age of legal majority should use CEN Africa with permission and appropriate supervision from a parent, legal guardian, school, or other responsible adult.
11. Cookies and session technologies
CEN Africa may use cookies, local storage, session identifiers, and similar technologies that are necessary for authentication, security, preferences, and core website functions. If analytics, advertising, or other non-essential tracking technologies are added in the future, this policy and any legally required consent controls should be updated before those technologies are used.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy as CEN Africa’s services or legal obligations change. We will update the effective date when material changes are published and may provide additional notice where required by law.
13. Relationship to the Terms
This Privacy Policy should be read together with the CEN Africa Terms & Conditions, including the travel, due-diligence, third-party, and safety provisions that apply when users pursue mission opportunities or other relationships through the network.
