Lunching, Learning, and Singing With ISSA Show Speaker Derreck Kayongo

Today’s ISSA Show North America 2022 featured a Lunch and Learn event with a speaker who has overcome much during his life in Uganda and beyond.

Derreck Kayongo began with a series of fun and heartfelt jokes before delivering a harrowing story from his childhood. When he was only 10 years old, soldiers shot nine people in Kayongo’s village, relentlessly destroying the spirit of his home and his people in the blink of an eye. He explained his shock over the murderers’ lack of remorse and related how the event affected him personally.

He went on to speak about his life, his son, his entrepreneurial parents, and his experience in America, with a conversational and highly enigmatic energy that captivated the room.

Kayongo also talked about his efforts to reduce soap waste. This mission, he said, stemmed from his experience in an American hotel where he first learned how much soap is thrown away daily. He then realized that the discarded soap could instead be recycled. He ultimately founded the Global Soap Project, an international aid organization that reprocessed soap from hotels to distribute to people in need.

He finished his inspiring speech by encouraging the whole audience to sing with him a song that reflected his African culture. The event ended with laughter, connection, and a sense of optimism.