Rose Alcodray-Khalifa: "It's all part of finding balance ..."

We want to thank readers for joining in this Ramadan series with your Comments and your stories. The following was sent to us mid-Ramadan about a family whose major challenges in this month of fasting wound up including …
   Well, here’s Rose’s story just as it was sent to us by one of our regular readers:

When it rains, it pours.
   Rose Alcodray-Khalifa knows that better than anyone. This Dearborn
Heights mother of two and Executive Director of Metro Health Services,
Inc., hardly has a moment to spare when everything goes as planned. Ramadan’s fasting schedule can make juggling a family and career even
more challenging. And then, this year, their roof went!
   And the
three straight days of rain that swept through southeast Michigan only complicated
matters further.
   “We’ve probably had iftar
at home with the family only two or three times this Ramadan,” Rose
admitted recently. But she probably wouldn’t have it any other
way.
   “Ramadan is a time when you
are continually aware of your faith,” she explained. “It’s
a time when you feel very close to the ideals and traditions of Islam.”
   While many families find themselves
gathered with extended family and friends each evening over a seemingly
never-ending selection of favorite foods, Rose realizes that sometimes,
that’s not always possible. And certainly not even needed.
   “Of course, we’ve been
sharing iftars with friends and family all over town. And you
realize that the important part is just being together. Even if
it means take-out. It’s all part of finding that balance.”
   And Rose is balancing a lot.
Since coming to this country at the age of six from Lebanon, she has
become an active community member with a large network of friends and
professional associates. One of the pioneers of cross-cultural
awareness in the health care profession, she is the founder and director
of the National American Arab Nurses Association (NAANA) and is in the
midst of final preparations for its Inaugural National Convention “Building
Cultural Bridges in Healthcare: Strength in Diversity” October 9 &
10 at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.
   And she’s accomplishing all of this while making family
and faith a priority. Rose and her husband, Reda Khalifa, MD, have
two children, Ziad, 10, and Yasmen, 5.
   Like many families
in Metro Detroit, they balance sports and homework, family vacations,
professional obligations, and that all-important time with family and
friends.
   Even during Ramadan.
   With a leaky roof.

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