Inge Sargent Thusandi
Hsipaw, Burma
As a child, Inge watched as the Nazis invaded her Austrian village, arresting her mother on three occasions. After World War II she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in America, which sent her to Colorado for her college education. While there, Inge fell in love with Sao, another foreign student from Burma.
Once married, as they traveled to live in his home in the Shan State north of Rangoon, her husband told her that he was, in fact, a Prince of the Shan State, which automatically made her the Princess of the province. Her name was no longer Inge, but Thusandi. Once she got over the shock of becoming instant royalty, Thusandi and Sao became a beloved ruling couple, making many progressive improvements in their land. Thusandi, specifically, upgraded the child birthing practices, resulting in greatly decreased infant and mother mortality. She made similar advancements in the school system.
One day Sao simply did not return from a political meeting. This ushered in a very dark period for both Thusandi and her two daughters, as well as for the whole of Burma when a malevolent military dictator assumed control of the government. Fearful for their lives, Thusandi was able to escape with her two children. She returned to the United States where she raised over $1 million to support the thousands of Burmese refugee victims of the dictatorship.