Zaman International Empowers Women and Children

Zaman International is an organization of empowerment. This is evident in the work the Inkster, Michigan-based nonprofit does as a whole — and it’s also reflected in the stories of employees and volunteers.

Monica Boomer, Zaman International’s Chief Impact Officer, is an example of empowerment. She spent just a brief moment doing administration work in Zaman’s office before moving on to coordinating volunteers and partnerships. She saw a need through this work and created a role, joining Zaman as the organization’s third employee, and is now one of more than 70 ‘Zamanitarians’ working at the Hope for Humanity Center.

To “realize a world where women and their children can break the cycle of poverty, and self-direct their futures,” Zaman International supports a variety of programs designed to empower the women they serve through wrap-around support and skills development that position clients to pursue sustainable employment that pays livable wages.

“Our only stipulation for the women and children we serve is that they are at or below the level of poverty for their family. Our average client is a single mother with two to three children living at or below $12,000 a year,” explains Boomer. For reference, the 2023 federal poverty level for a family of four is $30,000.

Zaman recognizes the women they serve benefit from extra support to bring stability to their lives so they can eventually pursue sustainable careers or income. This might be food and clothing, plus backpacks for the children, and it might be learning a new and marketable skill. “They see for themselves a desire to engage in educational programs and workforce development to break the cycle of poverty,” Boomer says.

Supportive programming from ‘Hope for Humanity’

Currently, Zaman serves 300 families in southeast Michigan each month — triple the pre-COVID number — and the majority are single women as the head of household. As special assistance programs provided during the pandemic are phasing out, Boomer says Zaman sees families experiencing increasing challenges, including unanticipated poverty.

At Hope for Humanity, Zaman’s headquarters in Inkster, families can receive food, clothing, shelter and other emergency relief through the organization’s flagship Bayt Al-Zahra program that includes a food pantry where families can choose nutritious, culturally appropriate foods.

To help women achieve sustainable futures, Zaman provides training programs to clients at no cost. The Building Opportunities Through Skills Training (BOOST) program provides direct instruction to build culinary, sewing and literacy skills — including financial and digital literacy.

“We offer strength-based programming, which means we help women discover the strengths they come in with and help them build on and maximize those skills in a trajectory that makes sense for them,” Boomer says.

For many individual reasons, not every learner will go on to work in a 9-to-5 role, and Zaman offers an entrepreneurial track to help learn business basics and the best platforms to market their goods. Learning the cottage food laws here in Michigan can help some entrepreneurs plot their course, for instance.

“At the end of the day, this is a group of women doing everything from going into business for themselves to working at the airport preparing food for passengers to working at Zaman because they feel comfortable here and they’re being paid a living wage,” says Boomer.

Addressing mental health and trauma

Direct mental health support for women has an effect on their families and children, too. That’s why it’s a significant part of the work at Zaman, says Boomer.

“We know that the stressors that poverty places on the women we serve and the trauma that so many of them have experienced can have a direct impact on their mental health and that of their entire family. When a mother falls, all too often, her children and household fall, as well,” she explains. “By alleviating the effects of poverty through basic needs provision and case management, by providing health and mental wellness services, and by helping women find pathways to sustainability, our programs have a multi-generational impact.”

Supporting newcomers with compassion

In the summer of 2023, at the request of the State of Michigan, Zaman assumed responsibility for working with Welcome Corps, a U.S. Department of State program launched in 2023 to support groups of everyday citizens to sponsor incoming refugees. In this partnership, Zaman oversees the citizens’ work of helping newcomers sign up for assistance programs they are eligible for, helping them find and register in ESL classes and assisting them in enrolling their children in school, along with other activities that help settle refugees in their new communities.

“Welcome Corps provides everyday citizens with the opportunity to welcome newcomers to Michigan. We are proud to support these citizens and newcomers in our role as Lead Private Sponsorship Organizing in Michigan,” Boomer says, adding that this particular program holds a special place in her heart because it allows her to reconnect with the work Zaman does on the ground.

“It’s all external facing, and that aspect I really love,” she says. “I love knowing that Zaman’s specific approach to helping others is spread to these groups so that newcomers have an experience that comes with dignity, compassion and stewardship.”

Empowerment of philanthropy

While many people believe that charitable giving is about making a financial contribution with the hope that the money helps, Boomer wants people to know that there’s humanity behind philanthropy. “It’s not just putting a meal on the table and calling it a day,” she says. “Our funders are investing in the future of humanity.”

The individuals Zaman serves are the “heroes” in the equation. “They’re living on $1,000 a month with three children and they still find a way to support their families, and still come to class and attend workforce development,” she says. “Many are survivors of domestic violence, widows, refugees or new immigrants, and are willing to do whatever is needed for their family. What they may not realize is that they are inspiring others.”

This year, Zaman International is working to expand the workforce development programming and is looking for organizations to use industrial sewing services or purchase fresh-baked cookies from their Rising Hope Bakery or hire Zaman’s graduates.

“Zaman” means “time” in several world languages, and the organization itself was a vision that grew from one person’s belief in humanity, says Boomer. “Thirty years later, we’re helping 3.5 million people worldwide and 300,000 in southeast Michigan through little acts that come together for huge empowerment. We remember that we have limited time on Earth, but our actions can make a big difference.”

Learn more about Zaman. Visit zamaninternational.org.