Colleen Costigan, Co-Founder of BEAM Kenya (ep. 840)
Live Inspired Podcast with John O'Leary
John O'Leary
4.8 • 695 Ratings
🗓️ 24 December 2025
⏱️ 63 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Colleen Costigan is the co-founder and executive director of BEAM Kenya, an organization built on the belief that every child deserves the chance to heal, learn, and lead. While living a successful corporate life and doing everything "right," a one-month volunteer trip to Kenya redirected her future and became a lifelong commitment now serving thousands of children through education and mental health support.
Today, Colleen shares how that one short trip became a lifelong calling, why education alone is not enough to break cycles of poverty, and how trauma-informed mental health care can change the trajectory of a child's life. She opens up about meeting a teenage girl named Faith, whose story reshaped Beam's mission, and how heartbreak, perseverance, and hope all coexist when you choose to serve others in hard places.
My friends, if you've ever felt a tug on your heart you couldn't explain… this conversation is for you. You'll leave reminded that small, brave steps can lead to extraordinary impact, that your privilege can become a powerful gift, and that hope is never wasted when it's placed in the hands of love.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You know that Keeley companies is all about fostering the world-class culture through their incredible cultural pillars. |
| 0:07.5 | Well, it was time to add a seventh cultural pillar, Kewley Green. |
| 0:12.5 | Guided by the mission to raise the sustainability standards by which they design, build, operate, and live. |
| 0:18.8 | Keeley Green is dedicated to using a holistic approach to leave a positive impact on our |
| 0:24.6 | environment, create a future that is sustainable for generations to come. |
| 0:29.4 | In the words of Rusty Keeley, we are just getting started. |
| 0:34.3 | You can learn more about that just getting started mentality and all the work they do |
| 0:38.7 | by visiting my friends at Keeley Companies online at keelie Companies.com. |
| 0:46.0 | Welcome to the Live Inspired Podcast with John O'Leary. John is the two-time national bestselling |
| 0:51.7 | author of On Fire and In Aw. |
| 0:54.9 | He's a world-class inspirational speaker, the host of the Live Inspired podcast. |
| 1:00.0 | And he's the real-life inspiration behind the major motion picture, Soul on Fire. |
| 1:05.4 | Each week, John interviews extraordinary individuals about their life stories so you can more fully live your life story. |
| 1:13.2 | Here's your host, John O'Leary. |
| 1:16.0 | Hello, my friends, and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast with John O'Leary. |
| 1:21.5 | You are in today for an inspirational treat. |
| 1:26.4 | The name of our guest is Colleen Costigan. She's the co-founder |
| 1:30.6 | and the executive director of Being Kenya. It's an organization built on the belief that |
| 1:35.3 | every child deserves the chance to heal, to learn, and to lead. While living a successful |
| 1:42.9 | corporate life and doing everything right seemingly, a one-month |
| 1:47.3 | volunteer trip to Kenya redirected her future and ultimately became a lifelong commitment for now |
| 1:53.9 | serving thousands of children in Kenya and beyond through education and mental health support. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John O'Leary, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John O'Leary and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.