OUR story

Passion and unrelenting commitment inspire this transformative social enterprise. ARZU began as an investment in hope for the vast number of women, their families and their communities, living in one of the most impoverished places in the world — Afghanistan.

In 2003, American businesswoman, Connie K. Duckworth, retired as a successful private sector financier, to embark on a new journey of global investment — an investment in hope for women. 

The year prior, Duckworth was asked to join the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, a bi-partisan commission formed to insure Afghan women a voice in post-Taliban Afghanistan.  In January 2003, Connie boarded a military cargo plane to the city of Kabul to see firsthand the indescribable hardships the women faced.  She met dozens of desperate mothers living with their children in bombed out buildings with no windows, heat, furniture, sanitation, and little food or clean water. As a mother of four children, Connie was touched on an even deeper level.  On the plane home, she outlined the vision for a non-profit business she would later name Arzu — inspired by the Dari word for “hope”.  It would be a 501(c)(3) but a new model of social entrepreneurship, one that would operate as a sustainable economic enterprise dedicated to empowering women through artisan-based employment.

Since 2004, ARZU has operated successfully at the grassroots level in rural Bamyan and Faryab provinces. ARZU uses an innovative approach to implement its programs at the household level, producing immediate, positive change in the lives of women and their families and seeding long-term transformation. Beyond these direct beneficiaries, ARZU’s impact extends to tens of thousands of Afghans providing prospects and effecting change within the communities as a whole.

ARZU addresses three interdependent needs:  consistent and improved employment, access to education, and access to basic healthcare, with a particular focus on maternal and infant care. The approach strengthens women physically and builds self-confidence to enrich them emotionally. This forms a vital foundation of support, which empowers women and builds healthy families, thriving communities and a more sound and secure country. 

Fall 2009 marks a new “chapter” of development as ARZU continues to inspire hope globally.

ARZU evolves to become ARZU STUDIO HOPE to explore expansion through new artisan-to-designer collaborations, sales and promotional partnerships, new product opportunities, licensing of its unique social business capability, and continued support of women struggling in other countries of need throughout the world.