City of Rochester
News Release
(Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010) – The Bamako-Rochester Sister Cities Committee and InterVol shipped nearly 200 boxes of medical supplies and equipment Wednesday afternoon to Bamako, Mali in West Africa. The shipment will provide much needed medical supplies and equipment to several community and rural health clinics in the Bamako region. The area’s population totals more than one million residents.
“The shipment commemorates the 35th anniversary of the twinning of our two cities,” said Committee President Clyde Forbes.
The shipment has been in the planning stages for several years, but faced several obstacles due to shipping logistics and costs. The committee has conducted numerous fundraising events and has received donations from the Greater Rochester community to assist with the project. Funding to fulfill the remaining transportation costs was finally realized after receiving a donation from the Pen-Web Rotary and the Rotary International District Foundation.
The majority of the medical supplies were provided by InterVol, a not-for-profit humanitarian organization that receives donated items from local hospitals and medical clinics. Additional supplies were provided by Zoetek Medical Equipment and Repair. Monroe Wheelchairs donated several walkers and a local physician donated a medical examination table. The Committee also sent educational supplies obtained through community donations to help a local school in Bamako.
The Bamako-Rochester Sister Cities Committee is one of twelve sister cities affiliated with the 50-year-old International Sister Cities of Rochester (ISCOR) program. Each sister city’s relationship is based on a wide range of activities maintained by volunteer “citizen diplomats” from throughout the greater Rochester region.
“This shipment fulfills one of the goals of our Sister Cities programs: Humanitarian Aid,” said City Councilmember Carolee Conklin, ISCOR president.
Since the affiliation between Bamako and Rochester began in 1975, close ties between the two cities have resulted in numerous cultural and educational exchanges, including official visits between each city, professional and municipal affiliations and student exchanges at the secondary and university levels. Previous humanitarian assistance also involved numerous shipments of medical supplies and equipment over the last 35 years.
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News Media: For more information, contact Clyde A. Forbes at 585-436-8656.