A Soapbox You're Going to Want to Get On

It all started with a bar of soap in a Pennsylvania hotel room.  Derreck Kayongo was spending his first night in an American hotel room when he became aware of the careless custom of replenishing bars of soap every day.  Derreck is a native of Uganda and has seen hardship and illness.  He thought of the millions of people that all these barely used bars of soap could help, and had the idea to recycle the discarded bars.  Thus, in 2009, the Global Soap Project was born.   

So how does it work?  The Global Soap Project has partnered with hundreds of hotels throughout the United States.  These hotels contribute by donating the used bars from their hotel rooms in large quantities.  Derreck originally started the soap recycling process in his basement, but now the Global Soap Project has its headquarters in Atlanta, GA. It is here, with the help of volunteers, that the soap is sanitized and melted down into new bars. The group has now produced over 100,000 bars of soap and delivers them to places like South Sudan, where soap is not within the normal household budget.  By partnering with non-governmental organizations they are able to reach the communities that are most in need. These recycled bars of soap help prevent children and adults from contracting diseases that will cost them their lives.  It is stated on their website that “seven million children have died due to disease that could have been prevented with proper hygiene since 2009.” It is amazing what one bar of soap can do. 

Derreck Kayongo, his family, and his group of hard working volunteers are truly humanitarians.  They have taken an instance of American wastefulness and turned it into something amazing.  To find out more about the Global Soap Project and what you can do to help click here.