Zaman International

Zaman’s goal is to break the cycle of generational poverty by stabilizing female heads of household. We give women living in extreme poverty the skills, tools, and resources necessary to secure consistent wages and achieve self-reliance.

Zaman believes the most effective way to break the cycle of generational poverty and help marginalized women with dependents realize opportunities is through a two-step intervention of stabilization and skills training. Under the guidance and close supervision of a caseworker, clients turning to Zaman in crisis or extreme poverty complete a self-assessment survey identifying their immediate needs and longer-term personal goals. Zaman furnishes material items (e.g., food, shelter, clothing, utility assistance, school supplies) for up to 12 months to stabilize clients and their families. Clients are then offered literacy instruction and job skills training to help them obtain reliable income to support themselves and their dependents.

As Michigan’s unemployment rate continues to decline, employers are challenged to find workers with the skills, education, and training to fill no fewer than 90,000 jobs. Topping the list of vacancies are positions in the construction, manufacturing, health care, and service industries. If Michigan doesn’t address its workforce needs, the state’s continued economic recovery could be jeopardized.
Employers, economists, and academics agree that recruiting women for non-traditional occupations and providing hands-on training are essential to help solve the labor shortage. The TA Zaman offers through its pre-apprenticeship programs focus on preparing women for jobs in the service and manufacturing industries – specifically, culinary arts and sewing. Additionally, we provide wraparound assistance, job-readiness skills, and literacy. As we work with a large Middle Eastern North African immigrant population, we also offer ESL and help our clients acclimate to their new home.

With a $60,000 grant from Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, two grants totaling $84,000 from Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and donations of equipment, and supplies, Zaman launched literacy and sewing programs in January 2016. We also received curriculum development and evaluation expertise from more than 20 community-based partners.
During our first year, Zaman trained 70 women, refined its multi-level curricula, incorporated entrepreneurial, financial and physical/behavioral health workshops, outfitted 22 sewing stations, acquired a paper-based and electronic library of 15 multi-level, integrated instructional series, and provided students with community-based service projects and sales opportunities to earn income from their handmade items. Nearly three-quarters of the first-year literacy students advanced to a higher literacy level, while 80 percent of sewing students advanced to higher skill levels. In its sophomore year, 18 percent of graduates reported being employed. The strength of our literacy and sewing program outcomes gives us confidence about advancing our culinary arts program.

Zaman’s story is one of vision-guided growth, beginning in 1996. Zaman CEO and founder, Najah Bazzy, encountered desperate poverty in metro Detroit while making house calls to refugees and immigrants as a registered nurse. Starting with family members and friends, Bazzy mobilized a grassroots network of donors willing to provide necessities to these marginalized families. This humble initiative grew steadily to become Zaman International. Today, Zaman has assisted more than 247,493 local families and nearly two-million individuals through its international work.

In 2016, Zaman established the Hope for Humanity Center, a 40,000 square-foot building in Inkster. It is the organization’s headquarters and houses the crisis assistance center and resale store as well as the culinary arts, sewing, and literacy training hub. Hundreds of women have benefitted from its programs, moving further along the continuum toward self-reliance.

Looking forward, Zaman is continuing to build the infrastructure necessary to be a world-class workforce development center for the women it serves. In 2019, it was designated as an apprenticeship program by the Department of Labor, which means it can offer a more robust, paid, and accredited training opportunity. Capital improvements to create a commercial sewing studio and expand the culinary arts training kitchen will allow the organization to grow the apprenticeship program and enhance the learning experience for all students.