Zainab Salbi, founder and executive director of Women for Women International
.... “Their generosity and compassion in the face of personal grief is inspirational. Their campaign to help Afghan widows is a resounding call for peace and reconciliation.” .
Beyond the 11th - An Update
Last year, Patti Quigley and Susan Retik, both widowed on September 11, 2001 , rode their bicycles from Ground Zero in New York City to Boston Common. Over 260 cyclists joined them on September 11 for the last 30 miles of the trip to commemorate area residents who had perished three years before. Hundreds of family members, friends, volunteers and those simply moved by Susan and Patti’s stories gathered to celebrate their courage, and Cycling Forward was born, raising over $150,000 to support widows in Afghanistan who live on pennies a day.
This year, we anticipate over 500 riders the weekend of September 11th, retracing the path that forever will link Boston and New York City and highlighting the need to forge hopeful connections to those suffering in other countries in the wake of the tragedy here. The ride culminates in an afternoon celebration on the Boston Common on September 11 th.
With your help, Beyond the 11 th can continue to promote programs that foster self-sufficiency, cross-cultural understanding and healing first in Afghanistan and, eventually, in Iraq and beyond. We hope you will join us by sponsoring Cycling Forward this year..
9-11 Widows “Cycling Forward” to End Cycle of Terrorism
Washington DC —Patricia Quigley and Susan Retik commemorated the third anniversary of the death of their husbands on 9-11 by taking a 250-mile sponsored bicycle trip, starting at Ground Zero in New York on September 9 and arriving at Boston Common on September 11 th.
Patricia and Susan met in the weeks following the 2001 tragedy. They shared
a bond over the loss of their husbands and each was pregnant with a daughter;
they both received an outpouring of personal and financial support. But Susan
and Patricia began to worry about the fate of Afghan widows; after years of
Taliban rule, their personal tragedies were compounded by war and the social
exclusion faced by widows.
Their non-profit foundation, Beyond the 11 th,
will donate the funds raised to Women for Women International. Beyond the 11
th selected Women for Women International to
help them reach out to Afghan widows and stop the cycle of violence unleashed
by terrorism. “We are so proud that Patricia
and Susan have chosen us as partners,“ said Zainab Salbi, founder and
executive director of Women for Women International. “Their generosity
and compassion in the face of personal grief is inspirational. Their campaign
to help Afghan widows is a resounding call for peace and reconciliation.” .
Since launching its Afghan program in August 2002, Women for Women International has
worked with more than 4,500 Afghan women in the post-Taliban era, many of them
widows, distributing more than $403,000 in direct aid. In July 2004,
Women for Women International dispersed its first micro-credit loans in Afghanistan
, with a total distribution of $34,000. Through these loans, 187 Afghan women
will start small businesses to support themselves and their families. .
The Beyond the 11 th donation will enable 125 widows to participate
in the training and business programmes.
Just under $107,600 were raised by this event!! A great success for solidarity.