Strength and action

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Strength and action

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What gives me strength is what I will start with and then we will talk about the action itself. You stem from strength, and then you act. What gives me strength was the woman who came in to help me out during that time. Her name was Marge Campbell from Pittsburgh. She was a missionary. When I was a refugee, she took me in and my mother to keep everything together. She taught me how to drink iced tea and eat brownies and all that good stuff. Most importantly, she talked to me about who I was. She said, "You are not just a refugee, but you have so much you have seen. Your dad had a business. Your mom had a business. You come from an educated family. You can actually do this." She encouraged me to do a couple of things. Don't we all need somebody to encourage us? My goodness, we do need somebody to encourage us. If you are out there and you are with somebody, a kid or a child or somebody, you think that they don't need encouragement, you are wrong. Once I got that strength, that confidence that I could actually do it, then I was ready to act. That action and acting requires you to be confident. It requires you to be strong and have gumption. That's why your action stems from strength. That action was to do global soap. Now, look at me in the U.S.? My goodness, I'm acting because of the strength from this woman. When you do all of this strength and action piece, you have to remember; behind every successful kid is a powerful, wonderful adult that is helping them to be successful. That's what got me through.

Watch Video: Strength and action by Derreck Kayongo, ...

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Derreck Kayongo

Parent with a Purpose

Derreck Kayongo is a social entrepreneur and the founder of The Global Soap Project. An executive and development expert, Derreck Kayongo has more than 15 years experience developing strategic social campaigns within organizations for cause-related advocacy, public policy, issue management, and community organizing. His work has made a profound contribution in raising awareness aimed at realizing permanent solutions to global poverty.

Kayongo’s journey from child refugee to fearless visionary is filled with moments of inspiration (along with the benefits of good, old-fashioned sweat equity) that make him one of the most popular – and authentic – speakers on the circuit today. From Africa to Atlanta with nothing but a dream and tenacity, Kayongo beat the odds, earned an education, and has served in leadership roles in some of the world’s most respected non-governmental agencies (NGOs) since 1994. Today, he shares his vivacious spirit and invaluable experience in the areas entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability, global health, social justice and professional engagement with audiences in both the corporate and not-for-profit worlds.

Derreck Kayongo’s ability to motivate others to understand the role their work and skills can play in problem solving is one of the many reasons he was chosen as a finalist for the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year Award. Add to that the mantra of being a voice for the voiceless through his noble work of giving back, including dedicating his life to improving the lives of marginalized and vulnerable people across the globe: he has worked with the American Friends Service Committee as Program Director for the Southeast Peace Education program; joined Amnesty International as the Director of the Southeast Region; and currently serves as Senior Advocacy Coordinator for the Southeast region with CARE International.

In 2009, Kayongo and his wife Sarah embarked on a new journey pursuing their life-long passion of starting an NGO of their own. The Global Soap Project focuses on repurposing partially-used soap from hotels into new soap for needy populations, particularly in Africa. To date, The Global Soap Project has been able to donate 9,000 bars of soap to Swaziland, 5,000 bars to Kenya, 10,000 to Ghana, 1,000 to Uganda and another 3,000 to Haiti.

Derreck Kayongo is a proud naturalized U.S. citizen. He has been recognized as a 2011 CNN HEROES finalist and a COX Enterprise nominee; honored by Congressman John Lewis with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition; is currently writing his autobiography; has been featured in more than 20 news stories in the U.S., featured on Fox News as part of the Real American story series; featured on CNN with Fredricka Whitfield.

Since 1994, Derreck Kayongo has given more than 300 speeches on key issues related to poverty reduction in Africa; mainly on water and sanitation, soap, HIV/AIDS, Child Soldiers, Health and Sanitation, Impact of Landmines in Africa, Countries in Conflict and role of basic Education for Girls in Africa.

 
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Transcription: 
What gives me strength is what I will start with and then we will talk about the action itself. You stem from strength, and then you act. What gives me strength was the woman who came in to help me out during that time. Her name was Marge Campbell from Pittsburgh. She was a missionary. When I was a refugee, she took me in and my mother to keep everything together. She taught me how to drink iced tea and eat brownies and all that good stuff. Most importantly, she talked to me about who I was. She said, "You are not just a refugee, but you have so much you have seen. Your dad had a business. Your mom had a business. You come from an educated family. You can actually do this." She encouraged me to do a couple of things. Don't we all need somebody to encourage us? My goodness, we do need somebody to encourage us. If you are out there and you are with somebody, a kid or a child or somebody, you think that they don't need encouragement, you are wrong. Once I got that strength, that confidence that I could actually do it, then I was ready to act. That action and acting requires you to be confident. It requires you to be strong and have gumption. That's why your action stems from strength. That action was to do global soap. Now, look at me in the U.S.? My goodness, I'm acting because of the strength from this woman. When you do all of this strength and action piece, you have to remember; behind every successful kid is a powerful, wonderful adult that is helping them to be successful. That's what got me through.