In 1996, in her role as a transcultural nurse, Bazzy was caring the baby of an
Iraqi refugee family at
Beaumont Hospital.[4] She arranged for home
hospice care, and was struck by the condition of
poverty the family lived in.[6] This motivated her to focus on
poverty alleviation, and her efforts led to her founding Zaman International in 2004, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting poverty and its causes.[7] Zaman is run by volunteers and estimates having helped over 3 million people across 20 countries.[8] In addition to providing food and clothes to families in need, Zaman International has grown to provide
vocational education, an infant burial program, and international humanitarian relief.[3]
In 2022, Bazzy was appointed to the Michigan Humanities Council board by Michigan governor
Gretchen Whitmer.[9]
COVID-19
In response to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Bazzy leveraged Zaman's resources to provide pandemic-specific relief. The organization helped with food distribution and started offering
virtual support to the vocational program.[10] Bazzy also worked with the board for the Governor of Michigan on Michigan's
COVID-19 vaccination plan.[11]
Awards and honors
In 2019, Bazzy was recognized as a
CNN Hero for founding Zaman International[12]
In 2020, Bazzy's smile was featured on the packaging for
Lay's brand potato chips, a campaign focused on raising awareness of charity leaders and their organizations[10]