Round Rock Leader Article

From here:

After a six day visit to the city of Chililabombwe<, Zambia, Kyle Sears found Hutto and its sister city have much more in common than just the hippopotamus.

The pastor at Resonate Community Church - along with Hutto City Manager Ed Broussard and Will Guerin from the city's Community Development Department - recently returned from a trip to initiate the sister relationship with the African city with ideas how the two can build a mutually beneficial relationship and an appreciation for the similarities between people half a world away.

"I thought it was going to be a lot different in terms of landscape and culture and everything else, but it was actually a lot closer to this area of Texas than I thought it was going to be," Sears said of the city bordered to the north by the war torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. "The fact that Zambians are known for their hospitality reminded me a lot of Texas as well.

"My favorite moments were just sharing meals with the leaders over there and getting to know them and hear how remarkably similar our backgrounds are even though we're half a world away from one another. They still have very similar values as far as education and their family and really trying to make world a better place."

Initiated by Sears and former mayor Mike Fowler, a sister city relationship is a long-term commitment to a specific area in an effort to increase global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development.

The first thing Sears said the cities are looking at doing is implementing a pen pal program - English is the official language of Zambia - during the upcoming school year to promote education and cultural awareness.

"Chililabombwe also just built a new library like we have," Sears said, "so were hoping to foster a book exchange where we'll get books on hippos and things like that and we'll send them stuff on cowboys and bluebonnets."

While Sears said the program is still in the early planning stages, one of Hutto's main focuses will most likely be helping the city finish building its Kokosko Medical Center. Though the center is able to provide a certain amount of care, because construction is not complete it is not recognized by the Zambian government and funding is minimal.

"If they can finish the building, which will cost about $100,000, then they'll actually be able to retain some employees and have proper testing equipment and supplies and things like that," Sears said. "We're hoping to fund that primarily through grants but are also talking about having some sort of community awareness/fundraising event as well."

Both cities are also at the point of developing a sustainable business community that can serve as a driving force for their economies, and while Chililabombwe lacks the collateral needed for loans, Hutto is in the position to help.

"Basically we can have investors here providing small, short-term loans that would help someone buy, for example, a water pump to pump water up from the ground for irrigation to get a farm started," Sears said.

Sears said the city plans to compile a team of individuals from the communities to begin researching and developing ideas, and those wishing to get involved in the program can learn more at huttozambia.com.

"Anybody in the city that has an interest in this, there's a way they can be a help to the project," he said.