All You Have is Your Name

Integrity. It’s an old-fashioned concept; you sort of know it when you see it, or sometimes feel it. I’ve seen integrity. I’ve seen it in action, at Joe Yatoma’s Dash Diamonds in West Bloomfield. Diamond buyers in the know are drawn to Dash for its selection, its quality, its value, and its guarantee that each diamond selling for more than $1,000 is certified by the Gemological Institute of America—the jewelry industry’s authority on geological research and authenticity.

Read More
Love Grows

I write this in the midst of a winter storm, with snow drifts blowing in the wind and many school districts closed for the day. But the temperature outside has no effect on the warming of my heart when reading the articles in this edition. Writing the cover story was a real treat as the couples, especially the Denhas, remind me of my own loving parents who, although no longer with us, left a legacy of love and faith and family. My parents struggled to send 9 children to Catholic school, survived the death of their son by suicide and a couple of teen pregnancies to boot.

Read More
Staying Warm

More than 200 coats were donated to the CCF’s Little Scholars Program on January 13. Little Scholars prepares children for kindergarten through a variety of emergent literacy, early learning, and developmental opportunities. The program currently has a waitlist. For more information regarding the Little Scholars Program, call 586-722-7253 or contact Rachel Rose at rachel.rose@chaldeanfoundation.org.

Read More
A Different Perspective

Merisa Mesumic has a different perspective than the majority of us. In honor of January being National Braille Literacy Month, we wanted to share her perspective. CCF’s Breaking Barriers program offers services to those with visual impairments through the B.E.A.M. (Braille, ESL, Acculturation, Mobility) Project.

Read More
Norma Hakim (Naima Dalaly)

Norma Hakim (Naima Dalaly) was born to Hana and Nerme Dalaly in Telkaif, Iraq in the early 1920s. She passed to the fullness of life on January 9, 2023, surrounded by her family. Norma, one of the founders of the Chaldean American Ladies of Charity (CALC), was the loving wife of the late Karim Hakim, devoted mother to the late George (Faiza) Hakim, Joanne (late Alex) Thomas…

Read More
The Youth Mental Health Crisis: Today’s 800-Pound Gorilla

In 1977, the medical community abandoned the biomedical model used in healthcare since its genesis for a more comprehensive one which better encapsulates the picture of health—the biopsychosocial model. Over the last half-century, countless studies have proven that overall health is dictated by more than just biology. As the name “biopsychosocial” suggests, our psychology and social lives factor in just as much.

Read More
Celebrating the Gulf Cup Around the World

Eevin Esho, 25, and his mother were shopping at the Dream Market Supermarket in Sterling Heights, at the corner of 15 Mile and Ryan roads, when suddenly they saw two people excitedly running outside with Iraqi flags. More people began rushing outside, cars started honking their horns, and people danced in the parking lot. Esho, too, bought a flag from the adjacent store and started celebrating with the crowd.

Read More
Chai Al-Iraqi

As one of the world’s most popular beverages, tea has fascinated us, stimulated us, motivated us, and calmed us for well over two thousand years. Tea, or “chai,” as we call it in Iraq, is an authentic part of the local heritage. The Iraq’s long love affair with tea is amazing and historic, although it is difficult to cultivate in Iraq because it needs special environmental conditions.

Read More
Ark Angel Launches Second Investment Fund

In 2020, the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce started the Ark Angel Fund as a way to bring the startup market to Chaldean investors. In addition, it supports emerging businesses that can make a difference in the region. The first iteration of the Ark Angel Fund succeeded in raising a total of $1 million from 32 investors. All of the funds have since invested in seven different startup companies across several different sectors. While the Fund hears all kinds of pitches, it tends to focus most of its attention on innovative companies in the technology sphere.

Read More
Love in Bloom

Many people say that the secret to a good marriage is intimacy, commitment, and communication; however, the ingredients to a happy, healthy marriage vary across time and across cultures. With faith and family prioritized, it is no wonder that the Chaldean community has so many couples that have been married for so long. We interviewed two of those couples to discover what goes into a longtime happy marriage.

Read More
Dave Nona: Dedicated to a Life of Service

Dave Nona’s life began in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was the oldest child in a large family, having six brothers and two sisters. His father, a banker, moved the family to Amarah, in southeastern Iraq, when Dave was five. “Like most [Iraqi] cities, Amarah was predominantly Muslim,” Dave said. “There were maybe 10 or 15 Christian families, but we did have a Chaldean church and a priest there.” Dave remembers being the only Christian in his primary school.

Read More
Amanda Elias Helps Revitalize Detroit

It was a marketing professor at Wayne State University that lured Amanda Elias away from her private sector job to her current home as a Senior Advisor to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “The way he talked about Detroit changed how I look at the city,” said Elias. She wondered why people were spending all of their money in the suburbs and wondered if Detroit could capture these dollars.

Read More