We spoke to the purpose-driven social impact leaders of our partner companies during the COVID-19 pandemic to find out the challenges they faced, how they resolved to overcome them, and their thoughts on accelerating Shared Impact.
In this series, meet Justen Li, Chairman of Soap Cycling.
Soap Cycling is a non-profit organization that works with students, hotels, corporates, volunteers, and WASH charities across Asia to recycle soap in a movement to reduce preventable hygiene-related diseases by distributing this life-saving resource to where it is needed the most.
Soap Cycling is eight years old this year! Tell us how it has changed since?
Soap Cycling has been growing greatly in the last eight years. We are reaching even greater heights thanks to the three years of funding from the Hong Kong Jockey Club which started in October 2020. We are very excited to have the support from funders and the community, to continue initiating sustainability programs and efforts to help those in need during these difficult times.
We often treat soap as a trivial commodity but sadly it is still a luxury for many people in the world, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Can you share with us some of the stories of the beneficiaries of Soap Cycling’s community outreach campaign?
There are a lot of people living in poverty, and they would treasure a bar of soap, just like the kids who received the soap bars on our distribution trips in various countries in the Asia-Pacific Region.
However, this pandemic has led to widespread unemployment, which has made masks, soap, and hygiene products relatively more expensive to purchase for many. When we distributed soap to street cleaners, we met people who were previously employed as waitresses and construction workers but lost their jobs and their income due to the pandemic. We are grateful that our provision of hygiene kits helped and aided many lives.
As a social impact organization, what are the major challenges you face when meeting the increasing demand for your services throughout the pandemic, and how do you overcome them?
At Soap Cycling, we don’t see them as challenges. Obviously, people will ask more from us, both quality- and quantity-wise. We use that as extra motivation to keep doing the work we do.
What are the major lessons you have learnt that would go into building resilience in your organization, and/or further your impact going forward?
It’s amazing to see how the team has come together, and how much we have grown from a small operation with a back office to fundraising, awareness-building, and brand-building during 2020. This is a momentum that we need to continue to build as we move towards 2021.
From Soap Cycling’s journey since its founding, and also the lessons from the pandemic, what do you think is needed more to support social impact organizations in Hong Kong? What improvements would you like to see in the support and response of the government, businesses, funders, and the public?
Patience, as we are imperfect, and we are learning as well every day. As much as businesses are learning how to cope during pandemic, we are doing the same – facing completely new circumstances.
What is the systems’ change that Soap Cycling seeks?
Very specifically, we hope that the startup business funds currently available will also be open to social enterprises as well.
Lastly, where do you see Soap Cycling five years down the road?
Fantastic question. We always have the vision to build a community-led model through which we can excel in all three of our focus areas: empowerment, environment, and hygiene. We think organizations that are multi-purposed and a matrix like this can bring even higher value.
