Buffalo and Drohobych join ranks of sister cities (04/01/01)

Buffalo and Drohobych join ranks of sister cities

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Ukraine's newest Sister City is Buffalo, N.Y. Last fall the American city was paired with the city of Drohobych in Lviv Oblast to become the 23rd city to hold a Ukrainian-American relationship through Sister Cities International.

The non-profit affiliates of Sister Cities International work to foster understanding and exchanges between individuals and groups in participating countries. Particular areas of cooperation include: visitor exchanges, school and club affiliations, letter-writing, medical, technical and professional exchanges, art, music and photo exhibit and other cultural exchanges.

Metropolitan Buffalo has about 1 million people and is located on Lake Erie, at the Canadian border, only a few miles from Niagara Falls. Once the home of much heavy industry, it now has a diversified economy and an active community.

Drohobych, a city in the western Ukraine is located in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. It has a population of 102,000 and a history dating back at least 900 years. Industries include oil refining, metallurgy, wood products and building materials, chemicals, food processing and light industry. It is also home to the Ivan Franko State University.

The Buffalo-Drohobych Sister City Committee arose as an initiative of The Buffalo Group, an organization of business and professional persons. One of the objectives of the committee is to raise Americans' awareness of Ukraine.

Towards this goal, one of the groups first projects will be to join Buffalo's six other Sister Cities in sponsoring a banquet and cabaret on Friday, April 27. For more information about this event or about the sister city program call Emil Bandriws, at (716) 847-1281.

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