College Student Recycled Hotel Soap to Save Thousands of Cambodians From Disease

The combination of a loving heart and an intelligent mind is a world-changing concoction! Sami Lakhani worked through Trailblazer Cambodia Organization one summer building fish ponds in Cambodia. Here, he bore witness to many actions that would be appalling to those in the developed world. For example, he witnessed a mother unfortunately washing her child with laundry detergent, because soap is so difficult to come by in the developing world. Instead, families often have to resort to using harsh cleaning supplies or ash to attempt to maintain their hygiene.

Instead of witnessing this and turning a blind eye, Samir decided he was going to put his mind to the test and solve this problem. After much thought, he realized the opportunity of being near Siem Reap, the city that accumulates over 2 million visitors each year. Instead of allowing the over 500 hotels and guesthouses to discard their soap bars, he developed a formula to safely and sanitarily recycle them. This idea later developed into the Eco-Soap Bank, his organization that has provided 650,000 Cambodians with clean bars of soap. Additionally, they even employ 30 local workers in Cambodia to sell the products and produce an income for themselves. Samir is changing the world, one loving, eco-friendly bar of soap at a time… because Love Empowers!

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