I recently met with the President of the US Africa Sister Cities Foundation (USACF), Shirley Rivens Smith. She told me that the Foundation is an arm of Sister Cities International which creates partnerships between cities around the globe. The purpose of sister city relationships is to promote friendship and mutual understanding between two cities and their citizens, based upon the principals of mutual respect, mutual benefit, and cooperation. USACF exists to create greater awareness of the 97 sister cities in Africa, address issues that affect Africans, and promote public awareness through African Sister Cities relationships.

I was really impressed to learn from Shirley that USACF has a network of 4500 individuals, including mayors, who receive periodic updates from her. When I told her about the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2009, she offered to send around the petition to USACF members. I’m certain that without the actions of people like Shirley, we couldn’t have reached our goal of 100,000 signers! We owe a big thanks to USACF and all the other organizations and individuals who helped spread the word! Thank you!

-Ranna Lanagan