For too many Cambodians, poverty is a very real thing that affects people’s daily lives. In fact, for most, soap is too much of a luxury. Because of this, adults and children alike are more vulnerable to virus-causing bacteria and diseases. Poor hygiene accounts for one in five deaths of Cambodians aged five or younger. What makes access to something so simple so impossible for Cambodians? Low wages are the main culprit. Since a bar of soap costs almost as much as a day’s worth of work, many are forced to resort to using detergent which harms the skin with its harsh chemicals.

This problem caught the attention of student, Samir Lakhani (University of Pittsburgh) while he was volunteering in a Cambodian village. While staying at a hotel there, he stumbled upon the solution to this problem, well, in the trash can. It turns out barely used soaps were being thrown away while many were dying of diseases because they couldn’t afford it or simply did not have access to it.

Upon returning to school, he found the Eco-Soap Bank, a non-profit organization that recycles barely used, or discarded bars of hotel soap and redistributes to the people of Cambodia. Today, Lakhani has grown the organization with four recycling centers, and has the title of “CNN hero” under his belt. On top of that, he has had the opportunity to employ 35 Cambodian women.

The process of reusing this soap is equally intriguing. The discarded hotel soap is sanitized and reshaped into bars or melted to create liquid soap.

At the moment, Lakhani is looking to expand Eco-Soap Bank to seven other developing countries all of which are some of “…busiest tourism centers in the world.”

This organization began as a simple idea but has now touched the lives of over 650,000 people. In the words of Lakhani, “If you have one part drive and maybe one part naivety or foolishness, you can do anything.”

And with those words he relentlessly trudges ahead in hopes of inducing a positive change in the world by continuing to keep “…waste out of landfills, employing locals, and spreading soap all over the country.”