PRESS RELEASES
APRIL 19, 2010
SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL AWARDS GRANT FOR AFRICAN SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT TO THE
Seattle Mombasa Sister City Association
Grant funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
SEATTLE—Sister Cities International has awarded a two-year, $115,000 grant to {Seattle Mombasa Sister City Association to perform projects that address sanitation, health, and water issues in urban areas of Africa. This project is funded by a $7.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“This Sister Cities International program represents a major effort to address fundamental needs of citizens of urban areas in Africa," said Patrick Madden, President and CEO, Sister Cities International. "These sister cities represent some of the strongest partnerships between the U.S. and Africa and will become the measure of how cities can help each other and leave an enduring legacy in tangible ways."
The 17 grant recipients were selected by an independent panel of five experts in the areas of sister city relationships, aid administration, and international development. The other recipients include:
- Baltimore, Maryland, and Luxor, Egypt
- Chicago, Illinois, and Casablanca, Morocco
- Delray Beach, Florida, and Moshi, Tanzania
- Durham, North Carolina, and Arusha, Tanzania
- Jacksonville, Florida, and Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- Long Beach, California, and Mombasa, Kenya
- Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, and Buffalo City, South Africa
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and uMhlathuze, South Africa
- Oakland, California, and Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana
- Richmond, Virginia, and Segou, Mali
- Riverside, California, and Obuasi, Ghana
- Sonoma, California, and Aswan, Egypt
- St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Louis, Senegal
- Toledo, Ohio, and Tanga, Tanzania
- Urbana, Illinois, and Zomba, Malawi
- Wilmington, Delaware, and Osogbo, Nigeria
The 17 cities will join the seven city pairs that were chosen in Phase I of the program. Training with and travel to the African partner city for the newly chosen group will take place throughout the remainder of 2010.
“We are proud to be part of the second phase of the Sister Cities International’s Africa Urban Poverty Alleviation Program. With this grant we will be able to build a coconut oil factory, initiate and support additional projects in health, sanitation and water to improve the lives of the citizens of Mombasa, Kenya, says Dr. Millie Russell, chair, Seattle Mombasa Sister City Association.
MEDIA CONTACT: Frances Reimers, 202.347.8630 x8251 or freimers@sister-cities.org
About Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International is the only U.S.-based organization dedicated to creating long-term city-to-city relationships between communities in the U.S. and abroad. Created by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 at a White House summit, the organization is a leader in people-to-people exchanges with a network that boasts over 650 U.S. cities with more than 2,000 sister city relationships in 136 countries on six continents. Currently, the organization has 124 partnerships in 36 countries in Africa.
About AUPAP
Africa Urban Poverty Alleviation Program (AUPAP) is a three-year project to alleviate poverty in 25 African cities through water, sanitation, and health initiatives led by U.S. and African sister city programs. U.S. sister city programs will collaborate with their African counterparts to identify and address the most critical problems in these sectors, which form a barrier to sustained development in urban areas.
The sister cities network will capitalize on local members’ technical and professional expertise; links to city government, academia, nonprofits, and the private sector; and the long-term, people-to-people relationships they have developed over time to create projects that are both technically sound and based at the grass-roots level. Sister Cities International will also gather a group of international development experts to aid in the planning and execution of the projects.
For more Information
Contact Dr. Robin Jones atgoddessrobin@aol.com for more information about Seattle Mombasa Sister City Association.
Visit www.sister-cities.org/africa for more information regarding Sister Cities International and the Africa Urban Poverty Alleviation Program. Facebook: Sister Cities International. Twitter: @SisterCityIntl.
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