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Gwinnett man’s used hotel soap leads to next global gig

By Matt Kempner
Dec 9, 2015

You never know where an idea will lead you. Just ask Derreck Kayongo, who now lives in the suburbs of metro Atlanta and was recently named CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

As a young grad student visiting the U.S. years ago, Kayongo was shocked to learn the hotel where he was staying threw away guests’ little bars of used soap. A former refugee from Uganda, he saw even the used soap as a potentially life-saving treasure.

Years later, Kayongo launched a nonprofit that has gathered, sanitized and shipped millions of bars of soap to poor countries.

Check out how he made the leap to now lead an Atlanta center with global ambitions, in the latest Unofficial Business column on myAJC.com.

About the Author

Matt Kempner is an award-winning journalist who seeks out intriguing twists about people and subjects beyond what the AJC might typically cover. A former columnist and editor, his past assignments have included business investigations, energy, the economy, entrepreneurs, big business, consumer spending, politics, government and the environment.

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