Convocation: Derreck Kayongo

A former Ugandan refugee, Derreck Kayongo created a global business vision out of his challenging life experience. In 1979, when Kayongo was ten, his family fled the civil war in Uganda for a better life in America. He never forgot the experience of homelessness and living in a refugee camp, and today he has made it his mission to help save the lives of millions of children in developing countries, one bar of soap at a time. Each year, an estimated 3.5 million children die from illnesses like diarrhea and pneumonia, which can be prevented through improved hygiene and sanitation. In 2009, Kayongo and his wife founded the Global Soap Project, which donates melted, purified and reprocessed hotel soap to vulnerable populations, an astonishingly simple yet highly effective and sustainable approach to global health. Since establishing his non-profit, Kayongo has become known as a widely respected global health leader and social entrepreneur, and in 2011 he was among CNN’s "Top Ten Heroes" of the year. Prior to Global Soap, he served in leadership roles in some of the world's top NGOs, including the American Friends Service Committee and Amnesty International. He currently serves as Senior Advocacy Coordinator with CARE International and is a regular columnist with The Huffington Post. The title of his presentation is “Recycle Soap, Save a Village.”