Working for the children of the Home

Bassam holds an MBA and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). He is also a financial planner. In 2009 he became a private banker, serving clients looking for a personalized service. His understanding of wealth management comes as much from his client-service experience as from his knowledge of the business world. His services range from retirement planning to the day-to-day management of his clients’ transactions. Bassam joined the Lalonde-Doyon Group in 2018.

He is involved in several causes as a volunteer or board member. He was vice-president of the F.E.Lib Foundation from 2013 to 2016, and director and treasurer of the Canada-Lebanon Chamber of Commerce. He is currently treasurer and director of the Fondation Gérard-Delage, and has sat on the board of the Fondation du CHUM since 2020.

After earning a master’s degree in international banking in the United States, Fadi moved to Canada in 1987. He founded a real estate company in Montreal that still operates today, and in 1996 a family manufacturing business in floor coverings.

Throughout his career he has stayed involved with young people, whom he sees as the future of society. As a young man he was a Scout and an active member of the Youth Committee of the Syriac Catholic Church.

He is now devoting himself wholeheartedly to setting up a Montreal division of the Saint-Zacharie Association of Lebanon, convinced that many people there, children, young people and adults, live in very difficult conditions and need our support. He wants to ease their suffering and, even more, to foster the human and educational growth of children who lack the basics of life in their own surroundings.

Hélène Saya is an administrative manager with more than 30 years of experience in planning and coordinating administrative procedures and systems, and in streamlining processes.

A volunteer and member of the board of the Saint-Zacharie Association, she devotes her work to helping the most deprived and vulnerable children. Together with all the members of the Association, she works for the success of the organization.

Mazin Naami moved to Montreal in 1979. Shortly after his marriage, he began working closely with Father Pierre Melki, pastor of the Syriac Catholic Community of Montreal. There he developed a passion for helping others and has stayed involved with local charities and foundations that support people experiencing homelessness, women affected by violence, sick children and many more.

In his career he specialized in sales and marketing, with strong negotiation and problem-solving skills, and took part in many successful deals with national and international organizations.

Today he is committed to helping the Saint-Zacharie Association reach its goals of providing help and a better environment for the vulnerable and marginalized people in our society.

Arriving in Montreal in 1968 with her husband and two daughters, Nehmat enrolled at university to earn a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in teaching, which led to a contract with the Montreal School Board. She taught welcome classes for immigrant children, helping them learn French so they could join a regular class. She was later appointed education advisor for welcome classes at the CSDM, and the Ministry of Education asked her to design a French curriculum for these classes; it is still in use.

In the 1970s she joined Father Georges Coriaty in welcoming new immigrants and helping them find housing, work and much more. With her husband Robert and four other dynamic couples, she founded “Le Foyer”, which organized dances, the “Miss Foyer” ball, outdoor days and other activities. Robert and Nehmat worked with Father Pierre Melki on many projects, including the fundraising campaign to build a community centre in Laval that is well known in the community today.

Mrs. Bassal is currently vice-president of Entraide Bois-de-Boulogne, an organization that welcomes new immigrants and helps them build a good life in Quebec.