Heroes: Susan Retik and Patti Quigley

In the midst of all the hatred and vitriol and Islamophobia and Koran-burning, my faith that humans can behave humanely was restored by Susan Retik and Patti Quigley, whose husbands died in the 9/11 attack.

So at a time when the American government reacted to the horror of 9/11 mostly with missiles and bombs, detentions and waterboardings, Ms. Retik and Ms. Quigley turned to education and poverty-alleviation projects — in the very country that had incubated a plot that had pulverized their lives.

The organization they started, Beyond the 11th, has now assisted more than 1,000 Afghan widows in starting tiny businesses. It’s an effort both to help some of the world’s neediest people and to fight back at the distrust, hatred and unemployment that sustain the Taliban.

Kristof tells their story here.