Bahi was born to farmers Zingel and Gorgia Jarbo on December 10, 1947, in the village of Telkeppe, Iraq. As a young boy, he shepherded animals and cared for his hunting dog. His mother died when he was 11. His older sisters helped raise him, as did his mom’s brother, the late Ramzi Yono, who taught him how to cut hair. When he was 18, Bahi was drafted into the Iraqi Army where in between training and combat he would trim soldiers’ hair for extra money. He served six years in very difficult conditions because of ongoing conflict in the region. After he was discharged, Bahi went to Kuwait and worked for a sheik as his personal barber. Several years later he traveled to Lebanon with a friend to await their American visas.
Read MoreIt began with the Seyfo Genocide between 1914 – 1925 and peaked with the Semele [Simele] Massacre in 1933, exactly 90 years ago. If you ever wondered what our community was doing during World War I and the Great Depression, this was it.
Read MoreTheoni came to the United States to live with her son and daughter-in-law Samantha in 2008 after the death of her husband. Both families lived in Greece, sharing a building and meals, and caring for each other. Samantha is a teacher here as she was in Greece and has always had a strong relationship with her mother-in-law Theoni.
Read MoreIt’s August, and soon the summer will slowly come to a sad surrender and the hustle and bustle of school will be upon us. Pick-ups and drop-offs, packing snacks and school lunches, buying clothes and shoes and school supplies, and of course, homework and extracurriculars. It is a full plate for moms and dads and kids everywhere!
Read MoreDespite punishingly high temperatures, dozens of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad on July 18 to protest water and electricity shortages, and to blame Turkey for reduced flow of rivers. Designated by the United Nations as one of the five countries in the world most touched by some effects of climate change, Iraq is experiencing its fourth consecutive summer of drought.
Read MoreSummer is really heating up! And because we have barely been able to go outside earlier this summer because of the poor air quality, we have to make up for some much-needed splash time. Thankfully, though, you don’t have to travel too far to engage in some family-fun outdoor activities. So many new splash pads and aquatic centers have emerged in the last few years; allow me to list a few.
Read MoreThe Chaldean Community Foundation is happy to announce that it will honor the achievements of Karam Bahnam at the 5th Annual Awards Gala on Friday, September 22 at the Palazzo Grande. Karam is a successful entrepreneur and a founding member of the Eastern Catholic Re-Evangelization Center (ECRC).
Read MoreDr. Abro has five degrees and certifications from five different countries: a bachelor’s degree from Baghdad University; a master’s degree from the United Nations Institute in Kuwait; a master’s from University of Wales in the UK; and a Ph.D. from The Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. He also has a Master Black Belt certification in Six Sigma Engineering Quality from the US.
Read MoreSavvy Sliders’ founder and CEO Happy Asker started with a dream and a strong vision to reimagine what a slider should be. In 2018, he opened his first Savvy Sliders location in Commerce Township, Michigan. Today, Savvy Sliders has 35 locations in Metro Detroit with 30 more in development in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas. The growth of the company has made it the fastest growing slider brand in America.
Read MoreThis year, the CCF is pleased to offer two separate programs two afternoons each week for both boys and girls. Through generous support from the Good Sports Foundation, girls in our community are learning basic volleyball skills. The Good Sports Foundation donated over twenty-six pairs of shoes and outfits, volleyballs, and nets. Each participant in the program received a new pair of gym shoes and a complete volleyball outfit, to help the girls feel more like a team. The goal is to make a very real impact on the empowerment, self-esteem, and self-respect of teen girls through mindful movement and creative expression.
Read MoreIt is with great appreciation for the living example of their parents that John (Class of ‘87), Jeff (Class of ‘89), and Chris (Class of ‘90) have made a magnanimous $500,000 gift to Brother Rice High School in honor of their parents, Mike and Nedal Denha. This is evidence of the commitment of the Denha Family to the community and their investment in the future of Brother Rice High School.
Read MoreThe Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has called on Disney to cancel its upcoming series about the life of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of the modern Turkish state, according to Greek Reporter. The ANCA accused Disney of glorifying a “dictator and genocide killer.” The series is scheduled for release on October 29 this year, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.
Read MoreIn May, a group of more than 20 Michigan judges of Arab and Chaldean descent got together for an inaugural meeting of the Arab-American Judges Association of Michigan (AAJAM). The AAJAM is the result of an effort to bring together judges of Arab American and Chaldean ancestry, according to founders of the organization. Its mission is to promote diverse judicial leadership and foster social, professional, and personal development among members.
Read MoreThe annual Ankawa Youth Meeting in Iraq ended with a captivating Divine Liturgy led by Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil, Bashar Warda, alongside participating clergy. Recognized as the largest gathering of Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian youth, this year’s event took place at the esteemed Mor Elijah Chaldean Shrine. Over a thousand young men and women from various Chaldean archdioceses in Iraq eagerly participated.
Read MoreLooking for a job, or looking for employees? We can help! The Chaldean Community Foundation hosted a job fair for Safie Specialty Foods on Wednesday, July 5. Guests were encouraged to try Safie’s delicious food items ranging from pickles and asparagus to carrots and their famous beets, all while learning about the company’s culture. With the CCF’s help, twenty-eight job seekers filled out applications and some even interviewed with Safie Foods’ HR management. Three people from that event have already been hired.
Read MoreStacy Bahri, Strategic Initiatives Manager at the Chaldean Community Foundation, joined Officers Larry Reynolds and Kevin Coates of the Sterling Heights Police Department on their fourth episode of the Talk’n the Beat podcast.
Read MoreIf you follow the news, you may have heard about drug-resistant infections caused by an organism called ‘Candida auris.’ This kind of news can create concern; the goal of this article is to help readers understand the infection—who is at risk, how it spreads, associated symptoms, and treatment.
Read MoreStartling news out of Iraq caught many off-guard mid-July; the Chaldean patriarch has removed himself from the capital of Baghdad and is now in a monastery in northern Iraq. Tensions had been brewing between Cardinal Louis Sako and the military leader who goes by Rayan al-Kildani for months, but the latest move by none other than the president of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, threatens to strip the patriarch of any power over the Church’s holdings in the country. It is such a big story that all major international news outlets have covered it in depth, and so have we.
Read MoreIn many ways, the Detroit Riots of 1967 represent a turning point for the city. At the time, few could see into Detroit’s future. Distorted memories of life before the summer of ‘67 offer a nostalgic glimpse into what the city was and a painful image of what it could have been. Recollections of the riots offer a chance to see the moments that tore Detroit apart, a city pushed to the brink by economic stagnation in a changing world, a hostile police force, and a downtrodden minority population.
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