A strong, supportive Chaldean relationship is built from a couple's words and actions. With work, children, and other responsibilities, sometimes it is easy to take your spouse for granted or forget to do the things that strengthen the marriage. Here are some ten little things every Chaldean couple can do that will have a big payoff for your marriage says Jennifer Kinaya, marriage counselor and researcher on the psychology of better relationships.

Chaldeans are reminded that staying healthy during the summer months requires more than just eating the right foods. Dr. Saad Manni offers this partial list of things Chaldeans can do that will help keep them cool and healthy during the hot summer months.

Michigan, USA - Protecting God's Children Workshop (PGC) is a professional development workshop organized by the Chaldean Diocese of Michigan.  The PGC workshop covers diocese wide policies and procedures for all church volunteers.  All church volunteers are required to attend the PGC professional development workshop. 

Mother of God Church will be offering the workshop on Friday, June 27, 2008.  The workshop begins at 6:30 PM and will end at 9:30 PM. 

To register for the event please CLICK HERE and complete the online form.  You must be a registered user of this website in order to complete the online form.  Once logged into the site, please click on the blue pencil (lower right) for the online form to appear. 

Summer months are upon us and Chaldeans are feeling the heat.  The summer scorchers causing beach sun burns may be the summer trademark, but other heat related illnesses are just as dangerous. 

Although Chaldeans are inherently from hot areas, current migration has placed Chaldeans in different environments.    Some places are dry and hot and others humid and hot.  The heat can be our friend, but it can also be very dangerous. 

These helpful tips can make the difference in ruining the family's summer:

Michigan, USA - The Chaldean American Association of Health Professionals (CAAHP) will be sponsoring a Chaldean Community Health ‘O Rama on Sunday, June 8th, 2008 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the afternoon.  The health fair will be held in the Mother of God Church, Southfield community hall and is open to the entire community. 

The event will feature physicians, medical specialists, the American Red Cross, and other related health professionals offering free health consultation, screening, and testing services to the community. 

High school and college students interested in health careers in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, physical therapy, or health administration are invited to volunteer for the event.  “This is a wonderful opportunity for both high school and college students to network with health professionals and pharmaceutical companies,” says Robert Kakos, assistant coordinator of the event.  “To gain admission to medical or dental school, or a quality health program; students will need to demonstrate community involvement and secure recommendation letters.  Volunteering at this event will go far in helping students reach their dreams.”

Michigan,USA - The youth and beauty of a Chaldean is all too obvious.  The unique diet, good genes, olive toned skin, frequent cleanings, and skin care management secrets all contribute to the youthful beauty.  This unique trait is something the Nordstrom retailer took notice, and hopes to leverage, at the opening of their new store in the Mall at Partridge Creek. 

The store has contracted with Joanne Recchia-Kallabat’s company SkinOnyx, the U.S. distributor for Italy’s Kleraderm skin care products to make the product available in the cosmetics section of the new Nordstrom. 

"It feels like I brought Nordstrom with me," she said of her return.  The only other U.S. store that carries Kleraderm is the Nordstrom in Troy's Somerset Collection, where they've earned a strong following over the past three years.  "Nordstrom calls them 'Kleranets' because they only want Kleraderm products," Recchia-Kallabat said.  Kleraderm is an advanced skin care line developed by a doctor in Bologna, Italy.  "It really works," Recchia-Kallabat said. "It's been a beauty secret of the stars for years."

California, USA - The El Cajon Community Development Corporation (then known as Downtown El Cajon, Inc.) has been looking for a novel way to build their downtown community.  Hoping to tap into the business creativity, entrepreneurship, and community family spirit of the Chaldean community, the organizers invite Chaldeans to join their concert series along with other residents of El Cajon.

The 13th Annual Concerts on the Green is a free weekly summer concert series featuring live music for all ages that beings Friday, May 23, 2008 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on the Prescott Promenade in Downtown El Cajon. Opening night of the 2008 Concerts on the Green will feature the Rockabilly sounds of The Stilettos. The concerts are free to the public.  Concerts on the Green 2008 is offered every Friday evening through September 5.

Chaldean lifestyle and eating habits have changed.  Living in the American culture and adopting American eating habits have led to an increase risk of obesity and chronic illness in the Chaldean community.  Chaldeans have lived through many health crises in the past but the latest threat, though largely preventable, has silently grown to potentially deadly proportions. Chaldeans as well as Americans are in the grips of an “obesity epidemic,” whereby 65 percent of the American population is overweight and a growing number of Chaldean toddlers and children are obese. 

Even those who may not consider themselves overweight may be carrying a large amount of deadly belly fat, known to increase the risk of heart disease in relatively slim people.   Most Chaldeans have a basic sense that being overweight is bad for their health, but few appreciate just how dangerous it is.

Controlling fat excess is really fairly simple: Eat for health, not for pleasure. This is not to say that a healthy diet has to taste bad. But it is critical to keep in mind that the goal is a diet that provides health. The loss of excess fat will always come when you follow a healthy diet.

Below are four steps for losing weight permanently.

Want your kids to eat their veggies? Start offering them when they're tiny babies, and don't take a grimace to mean "No."  Think Chaldean babies receive enough vegetables in their diet?  Think again. 

Mennella, an expert on food choices at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia recently had 45 mothers spoon-feed their babies puréed green beans once daily. Half the group also offered puréed peaches afterward. At first, the babies who got peaches ate more peaches than beans; after eight days, both groups were eating green beans and had increased their consumption twofold. "They'll wrinkle their noses," Mennella says, "but they still continue to eat."

The babies who were breast-fed also ate more peaches than formula-fed babies, perhaps because their mothers ate more fruit than non-breastfeeding moms. This echoes Mennella's earlier research, in which babies born to women who drank carrot juice in the third trimester favored cereal made with carrot juice, as did babies whose mothers drank carrot juice while breast-feeding. "It's really a fundamental feature of all mammals," Mennella says. "It's the first way we learn about foods and flavors."

You have heard Chaldean grandmothers telling their daughters to eat some baklava to sweeten breast milk.  Mannella’s research seems to prove the wise words.

It is of no surprise that all are susceptible to colds.   While some Chaldeans are accustomed to constant change of weather, there are plenty who are vulnerable.

Think of waking up to the traditional tea and toast one morning, and before you know it, you realize your nose is stuffy, your throat is scratchy and a sneeze is slowly sneaking up on you.  You try to reach for a tissue to catch it in time, and all the while feel the aches in your body, and the light-headed feeling that comes right before the big “Ah-Chu!” And it’s here: that nasty cold that’s been going around; the one your friend(s)/family has complained about all week.

Those that should really be watched over carefully are the younger Chaldean children. They are still building their immune system and other infections could easily develop alongside the cold, like ear infections.

Ghasoon Majed and Dawood Summa, met at a Communion celebration party.  “We were both friends of the family.  The parents of the boy that received Communion had a barbeque and invited friends and family to their home.  I was a friend of the boy’s older brothers and Ghasoon was a friend of boy’s aunt,” Dawood fondly remembers. “I was around 24 and she was 20.  I kept bringing her tea so we could talk.  We must have finished two pots by ourselves.  The worst part was that we both had to use the bathroom after drinking so much tea.  The best part was that neither of us wanted to go because we enjoyed talking to one another so much.”

After several hours of conversation—and several pots of tea—Ghasoon and Dawood knew they wanted to be together. Some 20 years have passed, living in four different countries since that tea-filled talk, but when Ghasoon phones her husband to say she's on her way home, Dawood ready reply is, "I'll put the teapot on." For Ghasoon, that simple phrase, loaded with memories and meaning, tells her she is still loved by the man she fell in love with.

In America and Europe more than 40 percent of first-time marriages fail.  Chaldean couples continue to need both an understanding about what it takes to make their marriages last in Western society.  Latifa Seeba examines the latest research and studies on Marriage and shares some of the “Do’s” that Chaldean couples can use to make the journey together easier and more rewarding.

Michigan, USA - The Chaldean Education and Career Center, Chaldean American Student Association of Michigan, and Chaldean American Professionals share with the community four very important instructional family based seminars on children with special needs.  The events are free and will be held throughout Oakland and Wayne County.

Chaldean parents and health professionals which include teachers, counselors, social workers, nurses, psychologist, ministers, and community family aid providers as well as Chaldean college students studying in these fields are strongly encouraged to register and attend.  The events offers state accredited certificates and an opportunity to network with other professionals in your field. 

The seminars will be held in English by industry experts.  The dates for the events are February 16, March 5, and March 18. The seminar will cover state aid and educational services for families with children of special needs. 

Afterwards CE&CC, CASA-MI, and CAP will be organizing special culturally focused sessions for families with children of special needs.  A brief summary including the seminar syllabus, location, and registration requirements follows.

California, USA - Chaldeans who eat a lot of red meat and processed meats have a significantly higher risk of several types of cancer, including lung cancer and colorectal cancer, says Dr. Tarik Kajy, a Chaldean cancer specialist and surgeon.  A recent study released by U.S. researchers concur with Dr. Kajy that high red meat consummation is a health risk.  

The study is the first big study to show a link between meat and lung cancer. It also shows that people who eat a lot of meat have a higher risk of liver and esophageal cancer and that men raise their risk of pancreatic cancer by eating red meat.

A growing number of Chaldeans in America are being diagnosed with cancer.  Dr. Kajy theorizes that high red meat consumption in the Chaldean diet might be to blame.  “Chaldeans originating from the Middle East often ate a high vegetarian laden Mediterranean style diet balanced with low meat intake.  However, Chaldeans in America have reversed the portions and are now eating more meat then the traditional vegetable driven meal.”

Chaldean parents are curious on how to capture their little one's creative energy when the weather gets cold.  Being cooped up in the house all day can make a toddler honery and troublesome.  Chaldean parents can help channel that energy by trying at least one of our nine fun, brain-boosting projects.