We love covering news about our Sister Cities program. I am myself a member and have visited Caborca, our sister city in Mexico, just five hours south of us. I can report that visits back and forth between groups in Caborca and Prescott are not only fun, but also meaningful in building relationships and understanding across cultural and language barriers.
Caborcans often speak little English (it’s not a tourist destination), and US citizens mostly don’t bother learning any other language, so it takes effort on everyone’s part to communicate, but the kindness and generosity between the individuals who make the effort is tangible and so worth it.
The ongoing work of the Sister Cities group, still going strong after 50 years, and the high level of its commitment and consistency have drawn the attention of the Sister Cities International organization. This summer the Prescott/Caborca group received word that it had been selected the Best Overall Program in America for cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 residents.
Some folks think that the primary focus of the Prescott Sister City group is to provide support for underfunded social services in Caborca. That is only part of the work this group undertakes. There are actually seven areas of activity included in the groups’ mission. The award points to how well these seven areas are attended to and to the success of this cultural program.
The seven areas include cultural exchange, language education, monthly informational programs related to the Mexican-American experience, and personal stories relating to our own travel experiences, involvement by members in local projects like the Granite Creek Clean-Up, the Rodeo parade, Prescott Public Library displays, Cinco de Mayo celebrations and other projects.
The Prescott group also undertakes assistance projects, where we identify, with the guidance of the Caborca Committee and the city government of Caborca, social needs that could use assistance, such as a local orphanage, Casa Hogar. Visits between the two groups support our local economies, such as hotels, restaurants and hired performers. Last but most important, and the most fun part of the work of the Sister Cities groups, is building a cross-cultural community. Working side-by-side on projects builds connections, and there are wonderful meals and nearly always music and dancing.
If this long list of things the Sister Cities folks do isn’t enough, here’s a fun story about a cultural-exchange event that took place this summer.
Our Prescott group arranged a week-long intensive language exchange in August. Eleven teenagers came up from Caborca and stayed in the homes of members of our local group. Rather than sit in a classroom and focus on verbs, these young people had a week of fun adventures, including bowling, eating at In and Out, hearing live music on the plaza, a visit to the Grand Canyon, and bird-watching at Granite Basin with City Council member Eric Moore. Much fun and laughter was had by all, and you'd better believe those kids absorbed a lot of English bumming around with their friendly hosts. At the end of the week, the hosts asked the students what their favorite part of the week was. Two of them said that the bird-watching was the coolest part! Thank you, Eric!
For a long time the Prescott Sister Cities group had trouble getting the attention of our city officials, even though the group is officially under the administration of our city government. For the longest time Council just assumed the group had to do with just tourism. Last year’s 50th anniversary changed that. The mayor attended the celebration banquet, and Councilman Moore has been very supportive, visiting Caborca and hosting Caborcan visitors. As Will Fisher, president of the Prescott Sister Cities Committee says, “Anyone who goes, gets it.”
Kudos to the Prescott/Caborca Sister Cities groups for their great work building bridges across borders. I cannot recommend highly enough getting in with these fine, fun folks.
For more information and for joining the group, contact Dr. Will Fisher at dr.willfisher@gmail.com.
