DETROIT
JEWISH NEWS

inwil Chaldean News J

"A lot of
Jewish
families have
taken notice.
It wasn't that
long ago when
a similar
thing was
happening in
the Jewish
community."

Detroit Chapter of Ha-
cess to health care," explains founding
dassah, which each have
director Rachel Yoskowitz, one of eight
an impact greater than
full-time staffers. "As community aware-
women's groups in past
ness increases, more physicians come to
decades.
the program. The Jewish community has
Anti-drug programs
the same issues as the greater Detroit
and youth mentoring
community — unemployment, lack of in-
are among programs
surance. We're just a microcosm."
developed by CALC, the
To help address that universal need,
nation's longest-serv-
Yoskowitz and her team are working with
ing Chaldean service
Dr. Nahid Elyas, a Southfield internist
organization. "Our role
who is president of Chaldean American
has changed drastically
Association for Health Professionals. He
through the years from
leads the new Project Bismutha, which
a more social gathering
adopts the Aramaic word for healing.
and behind-the-scenes
Support comes from the Chaldean Fed-
work
to increased com-
eration, CALC and churches.
munity
activism," says
"This is a project for free health care
— Basil Bacall, Chaldean Federation
Kirma, the president.
for the community for those who don't
refugee program chairman
Similarly, Hadassah
have it," explains Elyas, whose initiative
provides a GirlForce es-
has accepted 100 uninsured patients for
teem-building focus for 10- to 14-year-olds and Check It
a six-month trial that includes discounted p rescriptions.
Out breast self-exam lessons for high school junior and se-
"Refugees coming from back home lose insurance af-
niors.
It also finances medical research at Hadassah Hos-
ter only a few months here, and they need healthcare.
pital in Jerusalem. "Over the years, our community service
Bismutha aims to fill the gap between government as-
projects have definitely blossomed," says president Fine.
sistance and work-related healthcare."
"Our women enjoy being involved in the community"
The Chessed approach is "a very replicable model,"
For Metro Detroit's 121,000 Chaldeans and 72,000
comments Yoskowitz. "Every community just needs to
Jews, commitment to helping those in need is a matter
fine-tune it." At Bismutha, Elyas voices gratitude for "a
of faith.
great partnership and friendship with Jewish Family Ser-
vices and Project Chessed."

Meaningful roles for women

Parallel paths also are taken by CALC and the Greater

1111 THE

• building
Ill& community

11111111111NITIATIVE

PRESENTING SPONSOR

Bank of America.

GOLD SPONSORS

WAYNE STATE
UNIVERSITY

meijer
DM C

DETROIT MEDICAL CENTER

Alan Stamm and Justin Fisette are writers for
Tanner Friedman, a marketing communications
firm in Farmington Hills.

SILVER SPONSORS

For thousands of years, Jews and
Chaldeans have given back to
their communities. For many, it's
simply a way of life and rarely
questioned.
"We always paid our dues and
got involved, just thought it was
something you do," said LeeAnn
Kirma, president of the Chaldean
American Ladies of Charity. "We
younger women became a part be-
cause our mothers were members."
But if you look deeper into
both faiths, you will see the sense
of community and giving lies in
the bedrock of both Judaism and
Catholicism.
In Judaism, two Hebrew phras-
es, tzedakah and tikkun olam, sym-

bolize the importance of building a
strong community through taking
care of your fellow man. Tzedakah,
which translates loosely to "chari-
ty" is actually much more than that.
Charity evokes the thought of gen-
erosity while tzedakah describes a
ladder of giving — initially giving
begrudgingly and transitioning to
giving willingly and anonymously.
This relates directly to tikkun olam,
or "repairing the world," in which
giving is designed to help others
be self-sufficient to create stronger
communities.
The Chaldean community fol-
lows closely in the footsteps of
Jewish charitable giving by focus-
ing on building a strong commu-
nity through ties with the church.
"Through conversations and
meetings, certain programs in the

Jewish community have successfully
transferred to the Chaldean commu-
nity in order to help their people,"
said Scott Kaufman, CEO at Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
As the accompanying story
describes, initiatives like Project
Bismutha and the Chaldean Fed-
eration are modeled directly after
their Jewish counterparts. With
most Chaldeans living close to
their church and family, the em-
brace of strong community rela-
tions and support for neighbors
clearly are rooted in faith.
"The act of giving should be
based on the inner person, when
they feel that what God has given
them should be shared with oth-
ers," says Father Manuel Boji of
the Chaldean Catholic Church.

441Qa
Court

Robert A. Flom.,
COCCI V WV.

Th....

wrence
Tech

I COLLEGE
OF BUSINESS

DEARBORN 1

1E1

Bloomfield Hills Schools

— Justin Fisette

July 1 • 2010

23