Norfolk growing its global family with addition of sister city

By Jaedda Armstrong

NORFOLK

On Wednesday, Norfolk got a new sister.

At a ceremony at MacArthur Memorial Square, Mayor Paul Fraim and Mayor Constantino G. Jaraula of Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, signed an agreement making it Norfolk's seventh sister city.

During the ceremony, Fraim described the ties and similarities Cagayan de Oro has with Norfolk.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur briefly landed there after escaping from the island of Corregidor in 1942. They're both port cities and have a significant military and shipping presence. And Hampton Roads is home to three organizations with significant presence in the Philippines: Operation Blessing, Operation Smile and Physicians for Peace.

Also, Old Dominion University has the only Filipino-American center in the continental United States. Hampton Roads is home to about 45,000 Filipino Americans, according to a report from Old Dominion University.

"The real question," Fraim said, "is what took us so long? "

Koka Yumul's parents live in Cagayan de Oro. He was born there and came to Norfolk to attend ODU in the fall.

"It's a great opportunity for Americans to learn about our culture and a way to bring activities here that remind me of home," he said.

"We're bringing the world to Norfolk and bringing Norfolk to the world," said Pamela McNaught, executive director of Norfolk's Sister City Association. The association's purpose is to promote international understanding, cooperation and friendship through student and professional exchanges.

This is the first sister city in the region from the Philippines. Sister cities generally have a few common attributes such as size, cultural and economic interests, or even names, such as Norfolk County, England.

Most South Hampton Roads cities pay between $4,000 and $8,000 a year to maintain sister city organizations. Norfolk pays $47,000. The cities say there are many benefits from the relationships.

It's not rare for students from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and Kitakyushu, Japan - also sister cities of Norfolk - to take intensive English courses at Old Dominion University. Or for family-to-family exchanges of high school students between Norfolk and Toulon, France, to take place, McNaught said.

"Who can afford to live in Europe for a month in the summer? It's almost impossible," McNaught said of the free home stays. "That's just one of the benefits."

Suffolk officials sent two students to its sister city, Oderzo, Italy, to stay with Italian families this summer, and now they are raising money to send about 40 high school musicians to Suffolk County, England, to perform.

"Just sharing cultures with the students is big," said Mary Jane Naismith, chairwoman of Suffolk's Sister City Commission. "It just gives us a chance to visit other countries as friends."

For Virginia Beach's Cherry Blossom Festival in March, the Japan Education Culture Center and the Miyazaki Sister City Committee donated 100 Yoshino cherry trees to Red Wing Park.

"There are a lot of things you benefit from other than just saying you have a sister city," said Ruth Fraser, the mayor's liaison for the Virginia Beach Sister Cities Commission.

This year, Portsmouth extended an invitation to commence a sister city relationship with Goree Island, Senegal, and Todi, Italy. The city currently has three sister cities.

"We make friends for life," said Jennifer Lee, chairwoman of Portsmouth's Sister Cities Commission.

Jaedda Armstrong, (757) 446-2346, Jaedda.armstrong@pilotonline.com