Lake Forest Woman's Rug Company Gives Afghan Women Hope

Lake Forest resident Connie Duckworth, who started her own rug company after retiring as Goldman Sachs' first female trading partner, was recently featured on WGN News for her efforts to alleviate poverty in an Afghanistan village.

Duckworth, a member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, employs Afghan women to make rugs for her company Arzu, which means "hope" in Dari.

Arzu, according to its website, "helps Afghan women weavers and their families break the cycle of poverty by providing them steady income and access to education and healthcare by sourcing and selling the rugs they weave."

Through Arzu, Afghan women earn fair labor wages while weaving hand-knotted rugs at home. Arzu also provides the women with literacy classes and operates a full-time school for their children.