Two Indian-Americans, Samir Lakhani from Pittsburg and Mona Patel from Texas, are among the 10 finalists for the prestigious CNN Heroes of the Year award.
Samir Lakhani from Pittsburg and Mona Patel from Texas are among the finalists for the annual award to be given on December 17.
Lakhani’s non-profit recycles discarded bars of soap from hotels across Cambodia and distributes it to villages in need, CNN reported.
It all started in 2014 when as a college student, Lakhani traveled to Cambodia where he experienced first-hand that for many in Cambodia a bar of soap is a luxury they cannot afford.
While still attending the University of Pittsburgh, Lakhani started the Eco-Soap Bank, the report said.
The organization now has four recycling centers across the country, providing jobs to 35 local women. The used bars are sanitized and remolded into new bars or melted down into liquid soap.
According to Lakhani so far, more than 650,000 people have benefited from the group’s soap and hygiene education.
Mona Patel’s non-profit aims to help amputees rebuild their lives by offering peer support, resources, and recreational activities.
The San Antonio Amputee Foundation aims to help amputees rebuild their lives. The group offers peer support, education and recreation opportunities, as well as financial assistance for basic home and car modifications and prosthetic limbs, it said.
