Our story
From one bake sale to six causes in four countries.
It started with a bake sale
In 2012 a group of friends in Portland baked for a weekend and raised $4,800, enough for one well in a village in northern Malawi. When photos of the finished well arrived, they decided to keep going.
Fourteen years later we work with local partners on six causes in four countries, and have never stopped sending those photos.
- Local partners lead every project
- Budgets and results published every year
- Founding donors cover our running costs
How we work
Local leadership
Communities decide what they need. We fund their plans, not ours.
Radical transparency
Every budget, audit and result is published on this website.
Built to last
We train people to maintain what we build, so it works for decades.
Measured results
We track outcomes, not just activities, and report them honestly.
Dignity first
No pity photos. People tell their own stories, in their own words.
Lean by design
Eleven staff, 1,400 volunteers and low running costs.
Fourteen years of kindred work
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2012
One bake sale, one well
Friends in Portland raise $4,800 for a well in Mzimba, Malawi.
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2015
Registered as a charity
Kindred Hands becomes a 501(c)(3) with 300 monthly donors.
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2018
The food bank opens
We open our Lents food bank, serving 200 families a week.
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2021
Trees for rivers
Our reforestation work begins with farmers in Chiapas.
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2024
Detroit gardens
The first community garden opens on a vacant lot in Brightmoor.
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2026
Forty wells
Our largest water programme yet, reaching 12,000 people.
Meet the team
Amara Okafor
Executive DirectorAmara grew up in Enugu and spent twelve years running water and sanitation programmes in West and East Africa before joining Kindred Hands in 2016.
Daniel Reyes
Director of ProgrammesDaniel oversees our six causes, from reforestation in Chiapas to the food bank in Portland.
Grace Liu
Head of FundraisingGrace runs our events, monthly giving and partnerships with companies and foundations.
Samuel Baker
Volunteer CoordinatorSamuel recruits, trains and looks after our 1,400 volunteers across Portland and Detroit.
Trusted and audited
- 2026 Four-star transparency ratingOpen Giving IndexAccountability
- 2025 Community Impact AwardPortland Civic TrustLocal
- 2024 Best Small CharityNonprofit VoicesNational