Delegates From Osogbo, Nigeria Return to Asheville
Adekunle Akangbe Ogun and his father, who are sculptors.
By Wallace Bohanan
Nine delegates from Asheville’s Sister City of Osogbo, Nigeria, will visit Asheville March 29-April 8.
The delegation—doctors, educators, and businessmen—will first stop in Washington, DC, for a conference. The group is part of the team that are renovating a women’s health center in Osogbo, undertaken in partnership with Asheville Sister Cities.
In Asheville the group will visit medical facilities, educational institutions, businesses, and supply companies. The Asheville-Osogbo relationship will encompass a doctor exchange-and-training program, as well as extend the relationship with MAHEC that was established during the last visit from Nigeria.
The Africana Studies Program and the Black Students Association at UNC Asheville will host the delegation, as will Ira B. Jones Elementary School. Jones is an International Studies school and has been exchanging gifts, pictures, and pen-pal letters with Osogbo since January, 2013. To help with business partnerships, the delegation will also visit the Asheville Chamber of Commerce and several area businesses.
Asheville is a Sister City with five other municipalities in France, Mexico, Russia, and Greece. Businesses and organizations interested in helping sponsor this visit can contact Brit Castañeda by email to [email protected].
