Arzu: The Story of Hope

(18 photos)
  • An Afghan woman weaver at her loom, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • An Afghan child of a weaver family, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • Widow weaver Hamida and her two daughters at their home loom in District 10 outskirt Kabul, Afghanistan, July 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • The daughter of widow weaver Hamida shows her scars from the war, Kabul, Afghanistan, July 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • Dragon Valley, a remote village in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.
  • Weaver Kubra and her family at their home loom in District 10 outskirt Kabul, Afghanistan, July 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • An Afghan girl prepares the loom for her weaver family, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • Afghan woman weavers at their home loom, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • An Afghan woman weaver shifts the loom bar to reposition the rug being woven, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. as Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamiyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • An Afghan young man weaves at his loom, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • A Afghan rug expert discusses rug patterns with a weaver family, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • An Afghan woman weaver at her loom, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • Afghan men of Shash Pul, a weaver village, gather for a meeting, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • The wool storage at Arzu's Kabul office, Afghanistan, July 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • An Afghan boy sits among wool piles at Arzu's Bamiyan office, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • A wool storage at Arzu's Bamiyan office, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • An Afghan woman weaver works by her son at her home loom in Shash Pul village, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. Arzu, meaning "hope" in Dari, is a US non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts.
  • An Afghan household in Dragon Valley village, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, June 2006. The fall of Taliban since the U.S. invasion has led Afghanistan to its first democratically elected legislature, but in a land scarred by more than two decades of wars, the Afghan people to date still face tremendous challenges: devastated economy, drug trafficking, the plight of returned refugees, and lingering insecurity due to insurgence of warlords and Taliban remnants.

Arzu, meaning "Hope" in Dari, is a Chicago-based non-profit organization that has worked in Afghanistan since 2004 to help employ and educate women through sourcing and selling rugs woven by them. Currently, Arzu has enrolled almost 700 women weavers, or 230 families, in Kabul, Bamyan and Andkhoi districts. In order to become an Arzu weaver, the women must sign a social contract agreeing to register their children in school and themselves in literacy classes. In return, Arzu...
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