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Arab American and Chaldean Group Has a History of Investing in Detroit
In Haifa Fakhouri’s view, Arab Americans and Chaldeans have an important role to play in Detroit’s revitalization.
“I am a true believer in Detroit, and a Detroit comeback,” the founder, president and CEO of the Arab American and Chaldean Council said at her Lathrup Village office last week. “We are part of the economic turnaround of the City of Detroit.”
In fact, she said, the group has a history of investing in the city — and trying to develop at corridor for commerce along 7 Mile in the 1990s — even as others criticize the project as a waste of money.
This year, the nonprofit group is celebrating its 35th anniversary, and Fakhouri, who is 69, is starting to think about retirement, handing off leadership of the organization to a new generation — and reflecting on how far the organization has come.
A native of Jordan, Fakhouri came to the U.S. to study at Wayne State University.
She started the council in 1979, she said, while she was writing her master’s thesis on the changing role of women. She said she created the organization, with others, to address the needs of people who came to the U.S. from the Middle East faced as they tried to escape political unrest.
“We need an institution to deal with the needs of immigrants coming from that part or the world,” she recalled.
The first year, she said, the organization had a budget of $20,000, pulled together from $500 and $1,000 donations.
The waiting area, she pointed out, was smaller than her conference table.
Since then, the council’s annual budget has grown to more than $14 million, with 110 full-time employees and 44 outreach centers in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties. It offers social service, youth, cultural, health and job training programs.
“We built it from the bottom up,” she said.
After Sept. 11, 2001, she said, the organization stepped up efforts to protect the community from discrimination and attacks.
Looking ahead, she said she expects the council to play a key role in Detroit’s revival.
“We are going to expand our base of services to the community, to be part of the economic development of Detroit — beyond 7 Mile — and also look at bringing more immigrants to reside in Detroit,” Fakhouri said. “Our role is expansion, building, revitalization — and development.”
Fakhouri said she has begun to think about her retirement from the organization and has set up a succession plan. When she steps down, she said, she plans to volunteer, but spend more time on other pursuits, such as writing a book.
“The organization was created to stay,” she said. “It is beyond me.”
Frank Witsil
Detroit Free Press