Razia Jan, "a dynamic Afghan-born U.S. citizen and entrepreneur" and Rotarian passed away on July 20 in her home in Los Angeles. "In the wake of September 11 she founded a school for girls outside Kabul that remains open despite the Taliban's return to power." She owned a successful dry-cleaning business in Duxbury, Massachusetts when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked. She began raising money for widows in Afghanistan after meeting two 9/11 widows. She opened a school for girls, returned home after 30 years, traveled to orphanages and hospitals buying rice, flour, notebooks, pens, hospital supplies. After the Taliban was ousted she established a free school for girls. Her diplomacy kept the school physically safe. Filmmaker Beth Murphy spent eight years making a documentary about the school which was aired by PBS in 2016 - "What Tomorrow Brings." "In 2012 Ms.Jan was one of 10 people honored for their humanitarian work by CNN in its annual broadcast "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." Even when the Taliban returned, she had "to close the secondary school and the college but as of 2020 there were 703 students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade." "Razia was totally undeterred by rejection," Andrea Alberto, the current executive director of Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation, said in an interview. She said, 'We'll teach as many of them as we possibly can.'".
