The sister cities agreed to cooperate in humanitarian efforts and extend cultural programs
By Hannah Kremer, Newswire Intern
Representatives from Cincinnati and Kharkiv, Ukraine signed a memorandum in Kyiv two weeks ago that renewed the 34-year sister city partnership between the two cities.
City Council Member Mark Jeffreys and Sister City Partnership President Bob Herring, delivered a copy of the updated agreement that had been signed by Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval to Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov.
The agreement stated that Cincinnati would continue to send humanitarian relief to the city for the next five years and provide programs to visit and learn about Kharkiv and Ukrainian culture.
Representatives from the cities of Cincinnati and Kharkiv met in Kyiv to sign an updated memorandum for the sister city partnership. It detailed Cincinnati’s goal to send humanitarian relief to Ukraine.
The visit came as Kharkiv continues to experience devastation from Russian bombardment and a mass exodus of residents after the Russian invasion.
The sister city partnership works with volunteer-driven nonprofit organizations to raise money for relief and rebuilding where the city has been destroyed. Since last year, the partnership has raised more than $500,000 towards humanitarian relief efforts.
The sister city partnership was established in 1989 during the Cold War and has provided dozens of opportunities for people from the two cities to connect including hosting students from Kharkiv at Wyoming Schools, as well as hosting trips for teens in Pleasant Ridge to visit Ukraine.
The project has attracted the attention and participation of more than 3,000 citizens of Cincinnati. This includes all of those who have donated to the organization, dedicated their time to the program’s mission or traveled between the two cities to share experiences and learn about each other.
Most recently, two marathoners from Kharkiv visited Cincinnati to run in the Flying Pig Marathon in order to raise additional awareness about the war in Ukraine.
“For years, you have shown us that you’re real friends; that you’re with us in the times of happiness, in the times of hardships,” the partnership’s president in Ukraine, Iryna Bakumenko, said.
“There are incredible opportunities by being involved in a sister city partnership and in a citizen to citizen diplomacy. It does make a difference,” Herring said.
“Obviously, we are not the Secretary of State or the President of the United States or a part of the UN, but in the individual daily lives of the people involved, that is where we have made a difference,” he added.
Herring’s involvement in the partnership also stems back to his learning at Xavier. Before becoming involved in the partnership, Herring earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history at Xavier and became the principal of several Catholic institutions in Cincinnati. He was then recommended to help foster sister city partnerships.
Herring reached out to the Ukrainian delegation that was in Cincinnati in 1993 to speak to the children of Nativity Schools. This eventually sparked the 34-year partnership between Cincinnati and Kharkiv.
“I think that what makes the partnership unique is working with citizens who grew up under communism. These are people who grew up under an authoritarian closed regime who didn’t have free or fair elections, didn’t have a free market or a free press,” Herring said.
“The world has gotten a little smaller because of it, and also more understanding,” Herring continued.
As for Kharkiv, Herring believes that the citizens there feel as though they have friends in the West and that they are not alone.
Herring encourages members of the Xavier community to be a voice for others.
“Do not be afraid to join. Don’t be afraid to write a letter to a member of Congress who opposes humanitarian aid. Advocate for those who are being bullied, not only on campus but internationally… Be a voice for others,” Herring said.