RCA History: Sister City Project

Welcome to a new feature of the blog, "RCA History!" On an occasional basis, I will take a look back into RCA's past and feature a project or effort that we did once upon a time.  Some of these efforts may be worth reviving in the coming year; others are just fun to think about.  Enjoy!

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From time to time, many of us will occasionally wander across the Reston border and pay a visit to the town of Herndon.  Perhaps you work there, or have a favorite restaurant there, or (in my case) get your hair cut there.  When you drive into Herndon, you may notice a small line at the bottom of their welcome sign, indicating that they have a Sister City in Runnymede, England.

"Interesting," you may think.  "I wish Reston had a Sister City.  Particularly if it had a name as fun as 'Runnymede.'"

Guess what?  Once upon a time, Reston did have its own Sister City.  And RCA was the group that helped make it happen.

First of all, let me explain a bit about how Sister Cities work.  There's more to it than just plunking your finger on a globe and declaring that you now have a "sister city."  There's actually an organization, Sister Cities International, that is dedicated to forming and assisting these partnerships. 

Sister Cities International describes itself as a "Global Citizen Diplomacy Network," and its mission is to develop these international partnerships to provide cultural exchange opportunities and to foster economic and community development.  There are nearly 600 US cities, counties, and states currently engaged in Sister City Programs.

As I mentioned above, Herndon is currently one of those 600.  Once upon a time, Reston was too.

Reston's Sister City was Nyeri, Kenya.  Nyeri is a town of about 120,000 people that resides in the shadow of Mount Kenya.  It's a former provincial capital, and as a result is home to a lot of government employees.  (Just like us!)  Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, is buried in Nyeri.  They grow a lot of coffee and tea in Nyeri, some of which we may well drink right here.  And Nyeri is noted for the lively entertainment of its pubs.  (How the scene in a Nyerian pub compares to, say, Jackson's on a warm night is undetermined.)

Reston and Nyeri became Sister Cities in 1984.  Reston was the first community in Fairfax County to form a partnership with a Sister City.  The idea of sisterhood between Reston and Nyeri was developed by Reston Black Focus, a civic organization from Reston's early days dedicated to promoting and preserving African-American culture.  RCA provided the financial and orgaizational impetus to move the Sister Cities effort forward.

The focus of the Reston-Nyeri partnership was on education.  In the summer of 1984, a delegation of special-education teachers from Nyeri came to Reston to visit our schools and our sights, to receive training in special education and the operation of educational facilities.  They also learned about the culture of America and Reston, including a visit to the Reston Festival (which was run by the RCA in those days).  And while they were here, the Nyeri delegation taught agricultural techniques to mentally handicapped citizens here.  It was a wonderful exchange of education and ideas.

Later that year, a group of Restonians traveled to Nyeri, where they were able to secure a site for a special education facility.  RCA helped raise over $50,000 in grants and contributions to assist our Kenyan sister city to build a facility.  When the partnership between Reston and Nyeri began, there were only a handful of schools for the mentally handicapped in Kenya.  By 1988, there were 50 such schools in Kenya, with many of their teachers and administrators trained right here.

But this partnership extended beyond the special education efforts.  Students in Reston schools (including Langston Hughes, Terraset, Forest Edge, and Hunters Woods) began sending pen-pal letters to students in Nyeri.  The Reston Lions Club formed a relationship with its Kenyan counterpart.  A Reston Boy Scout troop even partnered with a troop in Nyeri.  The Sister City partnership brought together a broad cross-section of Restonians and Nyerians.

Reston's partnership with Nyeri earned praise and recognition from all over.  Fairfax County saluted our work, as did then-Virginia governor Chuck Robb.  So did the Peace Corps.  The President's Committee on Mental Retardation recognized the effort to expand services for the mentally disabled. 

In 1986, the Reston/Nyeri partnership won an award from Sister Cities International for the best single project by a community of less than 50,000 people.  Thanks to the efforts of RCA and the Sister City Committee, we not only strengthed our community in Reston, but we made life better for the people of Kenya.

The Reston-Nyeri Sister City partnership was discontinued in the early 1990s.  But the effort is something I might like to see RCA pursue again someday.  What do you think?  Should Reston partner with a Sister City again?  If so, what would you like our Sister City to be?  I'd be interested to hear your thoughts in the comments.