Put Barber translated this post, originally written in Spanish by Elena Martin for Idealistas.org.

Image via The Global Soap Project. Click to learn more.

Two million children die every year just from a lack of basic sanitation. Meanwhile, in the United States alone, more than 800 million bars of soap are discarded annually after they have been partially used in hotels. Derreck Kayongo, an Atlanta resident—who happens to be a Ugandan refugee and the son of a soapmaker—recognized in these two extremes an opportunity. So he founded the Global Soap Project.

Derreck’s parents were displaced by the tyranny of Idi Amin in Uganda, so he knows about the extreme conditions faced by the millions of people in IDP and refugee camps around the world. When Derreck came to the U.S. and first saw how much soap went into the trash after just one use, he asked “Is it like this in every hotel?” The answer changed his life.

In the U.S. today, volunteers in every part of the country assist by collecting bars of used soap and getting them to Atlanta, where they are cleaned, melted, and made into long rolls of soap. These are then cut, packaged in boxes, and distributed in many new countries with the support of other organizations. And now, more than 100,000 bars of reclaimed soap have been distributed to different parts of the world. Learn more about Derreck’s story via CNN Heroes.

Bubbling over with excitement? Visit the Global Soap Project to find out how you can get involved. Or search Idealist.org for keywords like sanitation, refugees, and hygiene.

What are your favorite examples of everyday people who, like Derreck, spotted a need and an opportunity, and found a way to do much more with the resources around us?