ZAM’s Hope is the vision and creation of Zehra Quadri, a single mother who discovered first-hand the lack of services available to immigrant women in Chicago, especially on the north side. As she worked through the cultural stigma of divorce and struggled to make ends meet for herself and her two daughters, she also began planning how she would help others who were experiencing similar problems. At first, Zehra began offering emergency services from her home, using her own resources and supported by local donors.
In August of 2000, ZAM’s Hope was incorporated as a 501 (c) 3 not for profit. Since then, ZAM’s Hope has expanded to serve men, women, and children from 7 different ethnic backgrounds. Eighty percent of immigrant individuals who receive services are Indian, Pakistani, Mexican, Nepalese, Former Yugoslavian, Somalian and Afghani families. Most reside in the neighborhoods of West Rogers Park and West Ridge. Participants come to ZAM’s Hope with numerous problems. Among the most common are poverty, domestic violence, homelessness, stress created by two competing cultures and their expectations, unemployment, difficulty negotiating mainstream systems, and immigration issues.
ZAM’s Hope offers culturally appropriate services and is managed by a president, executive director, and board of directors. The number of individuals seeking help from ZAM’s Hope continues to grow at a rapid pace. Issues of confidentiality and trust are critical to ZAM’s Hope participants; they are unlikely to seek out mainstream services because of language barriers and fear of discrimination.
 Ms. Zehra Quadri, Founder |
“To Laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics, and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.” |
Dear Supporters,
I would like to thank everyone, state, city, and Community-wide for trusting and supporting me throughout the years. I would not have been able to facilitate as many people within the community, without all your devotion and responsibility to humanity.
I believe that the strongest bond of human sympathy outside the family relation should be one uniting working people of all nations, tongues, and kindred. The first duty of a human being is to assume the right functional relationship to society -- more briefly, to find your real job, and do it.
This is the duty of our generation: solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick, and those in despair. It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanizing meaning to a community in which all members will define themselves not by their own identity but by that of others.
Thank you for helping me to make hope real again for others, and for improving the quality of life for our community. I hope that we can continue onwards in facilitating meaningful community involvement, improving the economic and social fabric of low-income urban neighborhoods and communities.
Someone said; “Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it” I have given up a lot and achieved more than I could have imagined, I look forward to continuing on this road with all of you.
Sincerely
Zehra Quadri
Executive Director/Founder, ZAM's Hope
- Sardar Khanam, President
- Michele Edwards, Secretary
- Shaheen Ameer, Treasurer
- Shanaz Patel, Director
- Javed Aslam, Director
- Rana Afzal, Director
Advisory Board (alphabetical order)
- Aisha Aslam
- Nazli Hussain
- Iftekhar Shareef
