Formal paperwork begun to make Jwaneng, Botswana, Peoria's fifth sibling

PEORIA — Tebelelo Mazile Seretse is an ambassador. Her goal is to create more of them, particularly between Peoria and her southern-African homeland.

That goal became more realistic Friday night.

In a ballroom at the Marriott Pere Marquette, municipal officials from Peoria and Jwaneng, Botswana, signed paperwork that begins to formalize a sister-city relationship between the communities. The process might be completed this summer. Jwaneng then would become Peoria’s fifth sister city.

“These relationships don’t just happen,” Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis said during the culmination of a six-day visit by a 10-member Botswanan delegation. “They need to be nurtured.”

In this case, Seretse might be the chief nurturer.

The Botswana ambassador to the United States first came to Peoria a few years ago for a speaking engagement. That led to a friendship with Ardis, and that led him and other Peorians to visit Jwaneng last autumn.

Pairing U.S. and Botswana communities is a priority for Seretse, who went to college in Maryland and Ohio. Peoria would be the third U.S. city to form a relationship with a Botswanan counterpart, she said.

“Once a city twins, the people of Peoria start hearing about Jwaneng, and in the process they’re hearing about Botswana,” Seretse said. “It increases the opportunity for people to start reading and investigating.

“You then have that cross-cultural diplomacy, a people-to-people diplomacy, which is more superior interaction than paper relationships. You gain a better understanding of the culture, the people, what is needed and where to cooperate. That is better than just saying you have an ambassador in Washington, D.C.”

Jwaneng has a diamond mine that uses equipment made by Peoria-affiliated corporations. City Manager Patrick Urich said Peoria and Jwaneng can share information about disaster management, education and training and economic diversification, among other things.

The cultural diversification of having a sister city in Africa appears to please at-large City Councilman Eric Turner. Peoria already has those relationships with communities in Asia and Europe.

“It’s been missing for a long time,” Turner said. “Now the African-American community can get more actively involved, because they can feel a part of what’s going on.”

Or, as Seretse might prefer, on and on.

“We are hoping the relationship would live forever,” she said.

Nick Vlahos can be reached at 686-3285 or nvlahos@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @VlahosNick.