For immigrants, refugees and the impoverished, the weekend does not mean a reprieve in the struggle to get by, which is why Amtul Atya Kazmi finds herself working on a Saturday. She’s managing a 24-hour hotline, and one woman has already called in asking for help. Kazmi spends her days like this, dedicating her time to those who need it most.
Kazmi works as Chicago’s Coordinator of Muslim Family Services, a department of a non-governmental organization known as the Islamic Circle of North America-Relief. Her job requires her and her team of part-timers and volunteers to aid more than 1,000 people each year. That number may seem daunting to some, but for a devout Muslim like Kazmi, her service is a part of her duty to Allah.
“It gives me immense happiness,” she said. “Helping the Creation and pleasing the Creator.”
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Sometimes she coordinates doctor appointments for her clients. Other times, she’s helping them learn English at her office or finds them apartments and furniture. Her duties vary from client to client, but whatever their needs, she offers them compassion and hopes Chicagoans will do the same, she said.
The MSF serves muslim and non-muslim clients alike, many of them migrants or refugees. These clients hail mostly from Burma or Arab countries, there are African refugees as well. Various government agencies or Islamic cultural centers across town refer them to Kazmi’s office, and she coordinates with other NGOs to provide them with whatever assistance they need to integrate into American society.
“Basically we make their homes,” Kazmi said. “They need a good start and some good vibes once they enter the new