Privacy Policy
About this policy
Last updated: 09/09/2026
This policy explains how ROOTED Discipleship Journey handles personal information connected with its website, enquiries, applications and program administration. ROOTED is a Christian discipleship journey within the life of City on a Hill Church in Benoni, South Africa. This notice is informed by the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
It covers information for which ROOTED determines the purpose and means of processing. It does not replace a more specific notice given for an application, activity or service.
Who to contact
Direct privacy enquiries and requests to the ROOTED team, marked For the attention of the Information Officer.
Email: az.gro.llihanoytic@detoor
Phone: +27 60 413 9266
Address: ROOTED Discipleship Journey, C/O The Almond Tree, 3 5th Road, Benoni, South Africa.
You can also use our contact page. Please describe your request without sending identity documents or sensitive records until we explain how to supply them securely.
Information we collect
Enquiries: the name, email address, optional contact number, subject and message supplied through our contact form, together with correspondence by email, phone or WhatsApp.
Applications and participation: information you supply in the application process and subsequent conversations. Depending on the stage and what is relevant, this may include contact and background information, your motivation, church involvement, references, emergency contacts, accommodation needs, attendance and program-related communications.
Administration: where relevant, fee, payment and accommodation records needed to administer your participation. Please do not send card details or banking passwords through the contact form.
Website use: our website and its service providers may receive technical information such as your IP address, browser, device, requested pages and security logs when you connect.
Sources and your choices
We normally collect information directly from you. If an application requires a reference or information from a parent, guardian or other authorised person, we will explain that collection where required. Only provide another person’s details if you are authorised to do so, and make this notice available to them.
You choose whether to enquire or apply. Fields marked as required are needed for the relevant process; without sufficient contact details or application information, we may be unable to respond, assess an application or arrange participation. Optional information is voluntary. A required form field does not by itself mean that legislation requires you to provide it.
Why information is used
We use relevant information to answer questions; assess applications through the advertised conversation and discernment process; communicate program arrangements; coordinate accommodation, mentoring, service and outreach; administer fees; and respond to privacy or safeguarding concerns.
Processing must have an appropriate basis, such as your consent, steps you request before an agreement, performance of an agreement, a legal obligation, or a justified legitimate interest. Where we rely on a legal obligation, you may ask us to identify it. This policy and ordinary website browsing do not constitute blanket consent to unrelated processing.
Faith-related information, health and children
An application, testimony or pastoral conversation can reveal religious beliefs and other sensitive information. Share only what is relevant. We will process special personal information only where an applicable POPIA authorisation exists, including consent where required. Faith-related information must not be treated as unrestricted merely because ROOTED is a Christian program.
If health or support information is needed for safe participation, the purpose and appropriate handling should be explained at collection. Access must be limited to those who need it.
If information about a child is needed, an appropriate authorisation must apply, ordinarily prior consent from a legally competent parent or guardian. Please contact us before submitting a child’s sensitive information. This notice does not establish eligibility for the program.
Sharing and external services
Relevant information may be available to authorised ROOTED and City on a Hill personnel involved in the enquiry or program, and to service providers supporting hosting, website maintenance, email, forms and administration. Access and disclosure must be limited to the purpose concerned. Operators acting on our behalf must be subject to appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.
The website links to a Google Forms application and offers WhatsApp contact. Those services also process information under their own terms. Review Google’s privacy policy and WhatsApp’s privacy policy before using them. ROOTED remains responsible for its own use of information received through these channels.
Other disclosures may be necessary to comply with law, respond to lawful requests or protect legitimate interests. Special-information restrictions still apply. We do not authorise sale of personal information or unrelated third-party marketing under this notice.
Information outside South Africa
External cloud, communications and application services may process information outside South Africa, where privacy laws can differ. A transfer must satisfy section 72 of POPIA, for example through adequate legal or contractual protection, appropriate consent, or another applicable statutory ground. Additional requirements may apply to sensitive information or children’s information.
Contact us before submitting information if you need details of the relevant provider, destination or transfer safeguards, or wish to discuss another way to enquire or apply.
Cookies and third-party content
Cookies and similar technology can support website functions, sessions and security. External links, application forms and any embedded media may allow their providers to collect device or usage information, particularly when you are signed in to those services.
You can manage or delete cookies through your browser, although restricting essential cookies may affect functionality. This notice does not claim that all third-party requests are blocked before consent, or that analytics information is necessarily anonymous. Any optional tracking introduced must be assessed and explained, with consent obtained where required.
Communications, photographs and testimonies
We may respond to your enquiry and send communications needed for an application or participation. These operational messages are distinct from promotional messages. Electronic direct marketing must meet POPIA’s requirements; you can object or unsubscribe using the message’s instructions or our contact details.
Submitting an application or enquiry does not give permission to publish your photograph, name, personal story or testimony. Public use requires an appropriate permission or other lawful basis, with additional care for children and sensitive information. Contact us with a concern about published material or to withdraw consent for future use where consent is the basis.
Retention and security
Information should be retained only for as long as its purpose and applicable legal, contractual or justified recordkeeping needs require. Enquiry, application, participant, financial and security records may therefore have different retention periods. You may request the period or criteria applicable to your records. Information no longer needed must be securely deleted, destroyed or de-identified, subject to lawful retention requirements.
POPIA requires reasonable technical and organisational safeguards and appropriate controls over service providers. No website or electronic transmission can be guaranteed completely secure. If a qualifying security compromise occurs, we must notify the Information Regulator and affected people as required by section 22, as soon as reasonably possible and subject to its lawful exceptions.
Your rights and complaints
You may ask whether we hold your personal information, request access, seek correction, and request deletion or destruction where legally justified. You may object to certain processing, object to direct marketing, and withdraw consent for future processing where consent is the basis. Withdrawal does not undo lawful processing that has already occurred. These rights are subject to POPIA and applicable access-to-information rules.
Use the contact details above. We may need proportionate proof of identity to protect your information. Confirmation of whether information is held is free; any prescribed fee for supplying records will be explained beforehand. If a request cannot be granted, we will explain the reason and available remedies.
You may lodge a complaint directly with the Information Regulator of South Africa; you do not have to complete an internal complaint first. General enquiries: az.gro.rotalugerofni@seiriuqne. The Regulator’s website provides its current complaint process and forms.
Updates and related information
We may revise this notice when our activities or applicable requirements change. The update date appears above. Material changes affecting a collection or use of information will be communicated where required; an updated notice does not retrospectively supply consent.
Read the Protection of Personal Information Act and our website disclaimer for related information.