Najah Bazzy, Zaman International president, inside the organization’s new center

INKSTER — When Najah Bazzy, a transcultural nurse specialist, visited a refugee family with a terminally ill child in 1996, there was no furniture whatsoever in the house.  

The baby was lying in a laundry basket atop folded white towels. The parents heated the child’s formula on a portable stove and used a Styrofoam cooler as a refrigerator. Bazzy knew the dire situation of this family was reflective of the circumstances of a large underprivileged population of refugees in Metro Detroit. 

“I had to compose myself,” Bazzy said as she recalled her visit to the family, and choked back tears. “I was angry that this kind of poverty exists, but I felt compelled to do something about it.”

Working with religious and community groups, Bazzy started securing food, clothing and furniture for needy families. Over the years, her efforts grew into Zaman International, a charitable organization with 17 employees, more than 3,000 volunteers and numerous programs that answer to the needs of thousands of families.

Zaman was officially registered as a non-profit in 2004. Now the organization is moving its headquarters from Dearborn to a 40,000-square-foot-center in Inkster that will be a “one stop shop for marginalized women and their children,” according to Bazzy.

The organization’s founder and president was visibly enthused and overjoyed as she walked The Arab American News through the vast facility, which she expects will be open next month.  She pointed to areas in the building  and explained her vision for the services that will be offered in each spot. Zaman will offer English and sewing classes to women at the new center. 

“We want to stabilize families and offer sustainability through education,” Bazzy said. 

The center will have a culinary section, with food offered all day long. The new building will have offices set up at an upper level and a space for volunteers. Aisles of clothes and furniture are already established in the center, which used to be an industrial facility before Zaman bought it.

Bazzi said it is important that families will be able to come in and choose the clothes and furniture they like. 

“Choice is very powerful; God gave us choice,” she added.

Zaman has two trucks that roam Metro Detroit to collect and distribute donations. Zaman also distributes leftovers from local restaurants, bakeries and grocery stores to people in need. According to the organization’s website, the Mobile Food Pantry Program has delivered 319,029 pounds of hot meals over the years.

In 2005, the non-profit started “Plots for Tots”, which offers assistance to poor parents to lay their dead children to rest. The program has secured the burial of 37 children so far. Bazzy saw the need for the program after witnessing more than 200 unclaimed corpses of children at a local hospital.

She said she decided to turn her charitable efforts into a registered non-profit to help more people and organize at a larger scale. She is a devout Muslim, but the organization’s help reaches people of all religious and cultural backgrounds.

“Helping others is the greatest manifestation of my faith,” she said. 

Bazzy had decided to name the organization “Salam”, Arabic for peace; but said that at the last minute before signing the final documents she was suddenly inspired to change the name to Zaman, which means “time” or “era” in Arabic.

“I heard the word Zaman in my ear,” she said. “Maybe that’s what we should do with our time.”

Bazzy said she was thrilled to find out that “Zaman” has a similar meaning in Hebrew. 

The organization’s work reaches beyond southeast Michigan. Zaman has a program to facilitate access to clean water for communities across Africa.

Bazzy said the organization owes its success to the dedication of its supporters.

“Zaman has continued to make an impact because of the passion and dedication to our mission shared by our team, volunteers, supporters and community partners,” she said.

Gail Zion, an administrator at Zaman, said the organization gets referrals about families and individuals who need help from local schools, governmental agencies and social services groups. She added that the need for assistance has increased because of the influx of refugees from recent conflicts in the Middle East.

“More families are reaching out to Zaman for help, especially after the market crashed [in 2008],” she said. “People believe in our mission. They know we make an impact. We welcome the support and answer to the needs of people of all faiths and ethnicities.”

Zion described her work at Zaman as a “gratifying experience.”

“It’s amazing to connect with people going through difficult times and watch them transform their situations from hopelessness to hopefulness,” she said. “It is also great to have the confidence of the donors who believe in us and to empower others to volunteer and do good.”

Nancy Titus, a program director at the organization, said many volunteers had experienced tough financial circumstances in the past and want to give back now.

She praised the organization and her coworkers. 

“It is a lovely work environment,” Titus said. “The employees are not just dedicated. They are happy warriors. Anybody who touches Zaman never wants to leave.”  

Zaman accepts furniture, food, clothing and monetary donations. To donate or volunteer, call Zaman International at 313-551-3979.