Two Indian Americans Named Among Top 10 CNN Heroes

Two Indian Americans are among the 10 people named by CNN as “heroes” for their contribution to the society. Mona Patel empowers fellow amputees to overcome their physical limitations while Samir Lakhani recycles soap from hotels to provide jobs in Cambodia.

Patel’s non-profit organization, San Antonio Amputee Foundation, has provided support and resources to over 1,100 amputees. She started a support group where 30 to 60 amputees come once a month with their stories of strength and resilience. Patel, who lost her leg when she was hit by a drunk driver at the age of 17, provides counselling and prosthetics for those who don’t have access to it. Her organization provides need-based financial assistance for home and car modifications.

Patel has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and led other amputees to take up the climb as well. At the age of 44, she has two master’s degrees and has facilitated policy-level changes for amputees in the state of Texas, where she lives.

“Thousands of Texas amputees now have better insurance coverage — thanks to all the people who helped me and believed in my leadership,” Patel said.

Lakhani’s journey began in 2014 when he was volunteering in Cambodia. He saw a mother bathing her baby with laundry powder and water. “It’s an image I’ll never get out of my mind,” he says. He was staying at a hotel then and realized that if leftover soaps from hotels are given away to those in rural areas who have no access to soap many children can have access to better hygiene and sanitation. He started the Eco-Soap Bank while studying at the University of Pittsburgh. The non-profit organization recycles the leftover soaps, sanitizes them, molds them into soap bars and distributes them to people in need.

The organization now has four recycling units in Cambodia that employ 35 local women. More than 650,000 people have benefited from the non-profit’s work.

“What I love most is that we are killing three birds with one stone,” Lakhani, 24, told CNN. “We are keeping waste out of landfills, employing locals and spreading soap all over the country.”

The CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute is a special television program that honors individuals who make extraordinary contributions towards humanitarian aid. Those selected receive $50,000 as contribution for their work. A poll is conducted among the 10 people to choose the top winner, who then receives $250,000 for the work.

Besides Patel and Lakhani, Rosie Mashale, a woman from South Africa who has been caring for children who lost parents to AIDS, and Iraq war veteran Andrew Manzi were among people who were named in the list for their work.