( CNN ) -- Derreck Kayongo is a Ugandan war refugee who started the Global Soap Project to help vulnerable communities fight disease . Based in Atlanta , the nonprofit has collected 100 tons of used soap from hotels in the United States and reprocessed it for shipment to impoverished nations . What started in 2009 as a one-man operation in his basement has grown into an effort that includes 300 hotels and hundreds of volunteers all over the country . The group now operates out of a donated warehouse . Kayongo recently spoke with CNN about how far he and his Global Soap Project have come and what he envisions for the future . CNN : What did it mean to you to personally deliver your group 's first box of soap to orphans last summer ? Kayongo : I became a refugee in Kenya , so it was important for me to be at the first delivery in Kenya with that soap . It 's like going back home where you left so much plight and suffering , and going back and giving back . So many of us leave distressed areas and never look back . Having been blessed in the U.S. , I knew I needed to give back . The soap means a lot ( to the kids ) . It means somebody cares . This is a health issue , and we are trying to protect them from simple diseases that could kill them . It means health , and it also means hope . CNN : How does your process work ? Kayongo : When the soaps come into the factory , we separate them by hotel . We do n't mix the soaps up -- they have different smells , colors , chemistry . We inspect each bar , literally . We used to use a potato peeler to peel off anything of concern . Now we have a machine that 's been outfitted with a gadget that will literally peel everything off and give us the inner piece . The machine breaks the pieces down into a dust , and then we take that out and add water , which gives a feta cheese texture . Then we put it back into the machine , which heats it up to about 250 degrees and compacts it . It comes out as a long bar that we cut into small bars -- either 4- or 6- or 8-ounce bars . ... Then we box the bars . We do n't package them in plastic or small boxes -- we do n't want to continue pollution . But before we ship them off , we take a bar at random and ship it to a lab and they test for pathogens . Once it comes back negative , we know that batch is safe and good to go . CNN : How does the soap get to the people who need it ? Kayongo : We have partner organizations that work with us . They are already on the ground doing incredible work and know where the needs are for soap within the communities they serve . They serve very poor people . These organizations usually have containers of other aid going to the communities , and they pick up the soap from our warehouse and put it in their containers . It 's a wonderful symbiotic relationship and a good way of using resources all around . Then ( the soap ) gets home , and the mamas and the kids start screaming . ( They ) dance . The soaps have different smells , different colors , and they 're from beautiful hotels here . They 're high-end soaps . You can imagine getting that soap . It 's a remarkable gift . CNN : What are your future goals ? Kayongo : I look forward to a day where we will become a full-fledged operation , where we have the money to make this professional . I want to be a soap depot where people who are under distress who need soap ... whenever there is a crisis globally , they can come to us and we can give them the soap . I do n't want to ever see a child without soap . I do n't want to see a mother give birth where the attendant did n't wash her hands . I want to put a bar of soap in every child 's hand globally that can not afford it . That 's my goal . See the full story on CNN Hero Derreck Kayongo : Recycling hotel soap to save lives .
Derreck Kayongo is delivering soap to impoverished countries via his Global Soap Project . The CNN correspondent personally delivered the first batch of free soap to Kenya last summer . When he was young , Kayongo found refuge in Kenya after fleeing Uganda . He says he has seen poor families dance in tears after receiving soap .