By By Irina Pery
Every immigrant remembers a moment when home suddenly feels very far away.
Sometimes it happens quietly — while standing in a grocery store searching for familiar spices, hearing your native language unexpectedly in a crowd, or trying to explain a tradition that no one around you fully understands. Other times, it is the realization that although you are surrounded by people, a part of you still feels unseen.
Yet immigrants carry extraordinary worlds within them.
They carry stories, traditions, recipes, music, resilience, sacrifice, and dreams shaped by generations before them. They learn how to rebuild themselves in unfamiliar places while still holding onto pieces of where they came from. And often, in that process of rebuilding, they begin searching not only for opportunity — but for belonging. 
For Zeenath Sheikh, that realization became deeply personal.
During her years studying at Ohio University, Zeenath experienced, for the first time, what it truly meant to live in a multicultural environment. Students from different countries, faiths, and cultures shared classrooms, conversations, meals, and experiences.
As Cultural Secretary for the International Student Union (ISU) at Ohio University, she helped organize international food festivals and cultural street fairs — moments where culture became more than identity; it became connection.
“What stayed with me,” Zeenath says, “was not our differences, but how much beauty and connection existed when people came together with openness and respect.”
As an entrepreneur, educator, and community leader, she felt a growing responsibility to help create more spaces where that kind of connection could happen intentionally.
That realization eventually shaped the foundation of her work.
In 2021, Zeenath founded the International Cultural and Relief Association (ICRA), a nonprofit organization focused on cultural understanding, humanitarian support, and community connection. Through ICRA, she worked closely with immigrant, multicultural, and underserved communities — especially women entrepreneurs whose talents and contributions often remained unseen despite their resilience, creativity, and determination.
Under ICRA, she launched initiatives designed to bring people together in meaningful ways: free daily Ramadan iftars, professional networking events, community bazaars, cultural gatherings, and a Toastmasters club that helped individuals build confidence, communication, and leadership skills.
But through years of community work, Zeenath noticed something deeper.
Many immigrant communities possessed extraordinary talent, businesses, traditions, and stories — yet there were very few intentional spaces where people from different backgrounds could genuinely connect in uplifting and meaningful ways.
That realization became the beginning of Global Roots.
Global Roots launched its first multicultural event in January 2026, followed by its second major event on Mother’s Day, May 10, 2026, at The Mall at Tuttle Crossing — where 18 nationalities came together under one roof through food, clothing, art, music, and traditional ethnic attire. More than 35 entrepreneurs showcased their cultures, products, and traditions, while hundreds of visitors experienced what felt like a small microcosm of the world in the heart of Columbus.
What began as a community gathering quickly evolved into something much more meaningful: a welcoming space where cultures, businesses, families, traditions, and stories could come together and be celebrated.
Founded as more than just an event platform or marketplace, Global Roots was envisioned as a living ecosystem where culture, entrepreneurship, storytelling, food, arts, and community could coexist and thrive together.
For Zeenath, the focus on entrepreneurs and multicultural bazaars was deeply intentional.
“I realized that culture creates emotional connection, but economic empowerment creates sustainability,” she explains. “Many immigrant entrepreneurs have incredible products, skills, and stories, but they often lack visibility, platforms, and opportunities to connect with broader communities.”
The bazaars became more than vendor markets. They became spaces of representation and belonging. Every booth carried a story — of migration, sacrifice, courage, family, survival, and hope. A hand made item reflected generations of tradition. A dish of food carried memories of home.
Through Global Roots, Zeenath hopes to create spaces where communities do not simply coexist, but genuinely see, value, and learn from one another.
While ICRA remains rooted in nonprofit service, advocacy, and humanitarian impact, Global Roots was created with a different purpose — building sustainable cultural and economic ecosystems that can grow thoughtfully over time. As an LLC, Global Roots provides the flexibility to create partnerships, marketplaces, experiences, and opportunities that support both cultural connection and economic empowerment while remaining deeply mission-driven.
Still, despite the larger vision, Zeenath is intentional about growing slowly and authentically.
“At this stage, we are building thoughtfully and modestly,” she says. “The focus is not rapid expansion. It is about creating meaningful experiences that genuinely resonate with people and communities. We want every event to feel intentional, welcoming, and memorable.”
Future plans include more thoughtfully curated cultural events, marketplaces, and community-centered experiences that continue bringing people together through shared humanity and shared stories. But for now, the focus remains on building trust, nurturing relationships, and strengthening the community with one meaningful experience at a time.
At its heart, the mission of Global Roots is simple yet powerful:
“To connect communities, celebrate cultures, empower small businesses, and create spaces where people feel seen, valued, and inspired.”
For Zeenath Sheikh, what began as the experience of an international student discovering the beauty of multicultural connection has now evolved into something far greater — a lifelong effort to transform diversity into belonging, and belonging into opportunity.
Because perhaps that is the true immigrant story itself: carrying your roots across oceans and borders, then planting them carefully enough that others may one day find belonging there too.
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