[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 116 (Monday, September 10, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S9248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF HAIFA FAKHOURI

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise today to ask my Senate 
colleagues to join with me in honoring dedicated activist and respected 
community leader Dr. Haifa Fakhouri. Dr. Fakhouri will be named a Lady 
of Charity by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME 
Missionaries) at the 43rd Knights of Charity Award Dinner in Dearborn, 
Michigan on October 11, 2001.
  The Knights of Charity Award is presented each year to men and women 
who clearly exemplify ``Unity in Family Life with Person-to-Person 
Charity.'' This award is given to those whose words and actions promote 
the ideals of charity, friendship, love and interfaith and 
intercultural collaboration.
  Dr. Fakhouri clearly exemplifies these ideals. Since coming to 
America from Jordan in 1968, she has become one of the most respected 
leaders of the Arab-American community. Her most well known and far 
reaching achievement was helping to found, and serve as President and 
CEO of the Arab-American and Chaldean Council (ACC), the largest 
community based human services agency in the nation, serving the Arabic 
and Chaldean speaking population of southeast Michigan. Founded in 
Detroit in 1979, the ACC has quickly grown to offer 36 outreach centers 
and over 50 specialized programs to the Arab/Chaldean community in 
Detroit and the surrounding area.
  Under Dr. Fakhouri's leadership, the ACC has adopted goals and ideals 
that closely match those of the Knights of Charity Award. The ACC is 
dedicated to building community cooperation and coordination, 
increasing cross cultural understanding and raising the level of the 
community's general well-being. Because Dr. Fakhouri has been so 
successful in guiding the ACC towards achieving these goals, she has 
received recognition from numerous state and national organizations. 
For example, she has served as Special Advisor to the United Nations on 
the role and status of women and population policies in the Middle East 
Region, and she has received the 1999 Governor's Community Leadership 
Award, the 1999 Michigander of the Year Award and many others.
  Dr. Fakhouri's leadership, vision and compassion have made her one of 
the nation's greatest community activists. Her dedication to serving 
others have made her an invaluable part of the southeast Michigan 
community. I know that my Senate colleagues will join me in 
congratulating her on being named a Lady of Charity.

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