Oleksandr Kodola fought back tears as he began to speak on Wednesday to a crowded council chambers at the State College Municipal Building. It was the first time during his week of speaking with people in the United States that tears had come, the mayor of Nizhyn, Ukraine said through a translator.
“Today my country is fighting,” Kodola said. “We are fighting for our freedom, for our home, for our families. We are also fighting for the values of the western world and America, the principles of democracy, human rights and safety and stable and sustainable development.”
Kodola, whose trip has included visits with other Ukrainian mayors to Denver for the Cities Summit of the Americas and to Washington, D.C., made his way to State College for the signing of a sister city agreement between the two university towns, the culmination of months of efforts by borough residents and officials.
With the agreement through Sister Cities International, State College plans in the short-term to facilitate aid to the city damaged in the Russian invasion by promoting fundraising efforts (it can’t use taxpayer dollars). In the long-term, the communities plan to engage in cultural, economic, educational, agricultural, spiritual and civic exchanges.
State College Mayor Ezra Nanes, who led the 90-minute ceremony and joined Kodola in signing the memorandum of understanding, called the day a “historic occasion.” Though war brought the communities together, he said, the ceremony was about “kinship, community [and] determination.”
“We honor the deep and abiding ties between our two communities and the resilience and strength of our shared human bond,” Nanes said. “As we look ahead we are inspired by the hopes and dreams of our peoples and our communities… Through this sister city agreement we will build understanding, appreciation, compassion, and mutual admiration that will endure for generations to come.”
Kodola spent much of his remarks sharing his city’s culture and history, as well as how it has been deeply impacted by the war with Russia. He highlighted how, like Penn State and State College, Nizhyn Mykola Gogol State University has played a key role in the development of his city of 70,000 people in the Chernihiv Region of northern Ukraine.
He spoke of the many festivals Nizhyn hosts during peace time, its varied museums and historic sites and its industries, such as its sunflower oil processing plant and canned food factory.
He also discussed how Nizhyn’s airport was attacked in the early days of the invasion and the battles that raged around the city, as well as the 90 Nizhyn residents who lost their lives in military service and more than 10 civilians killed. Photos showed the devastation that left dozens of buildings, schools, businesses and boilers damaged or in rubble.
The effort that led to the sister city partnership was sparked by Svitlana Budzhak-Jones, a native of Ukraine and longtime State College resident, and the Highlands Civic Association, who have been working since last year to raise money to help with critical infrastructure repairs in Nizhyn.
In addition to the two municipalities’ similar population and positions as college towns, Budzhak-Jones told council late in 2022 that they settled on Nizhyn because of the extent of the damage. It did not experience total damage in the Russian invasion to the extent the State College community could not provide meaningful help. But it did see infrastructure damage that needed be fixed, including to a central boiler station that was unable to provide heat and hot water.
Budzhak-Jones and fellow residents in 2022 founded Sister’s Sister, a nonprofit organization to provide humanitarian relief to Nizhyn, in particular for the boiler repair. Kodola said the $18,000 raised by State College residents helped to repair the city’s most damaged boiler.
“A big district of our city of over 5,000 residents were provided with warm water and heat during this winter, Kodola said, adding that funds also helped by sterilizers for a hospital’s maternity ward.
For Budzhak-Jones, the signing ceremony on Wednesday was the result of more than a year of efforts by many local residents and organizations, among them the Penn State Ukrainian Society. State College Borough Council voted in March to establish the sister city partnership “as soon as reasonably possible.”
“The document that the two mayors will sign today is another manifestation of the American people’s unrelenting support of the great nation of Ukraine fighting for its existence, freedom and defending the democratic values of the entire world,” she said. “Our sister city memorandum of understanding is only the beginning of an exciting new project between all members of our communities, whether young or old, student or retirees, businesses or independent entrepreneurs, faith based organizations or arts and culture groups … on the road to the happy and peaceful future, on the road paved with democratic values, mutual understanding and well-being of everyone in both cities of State College in Pennsylvania and Nizhyn in Ukraine.”
Kodola stressed that he expects the partnership to benefit both communities.
“I want you to understand that this is a two-way street, that the partnership is not just one way,” he said. “I don’t want you to feel that I am here to ask for your help only. We are very interested in a partnership relationship and that we will have this huge friendship between the two communities in the future.”
After the two mayors signed the memorandum of understanding, Kodola presented Nanes and borough council President Jesse Barlow with a few gifts made in Nizhyn. Among them was a small banner made of glass beads and bearing the image of the Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Matsievskyi and the words “Slava Ukraini,” or “Glory to Ukraine.” Matsievskyi was captured on video speaking those words before he was executed by Russian soldiers. Matsievskyi has become a national hero and the subject of worldwide media attention.
Nanes said the banner will be hung “in a place of honor” in the borough building.
Kodola also expressed appreciation for the burgeoning bond between the communities.
“Even though we are geographically located way too far away from each other, right now at this moment we are so close,” Kodola said. “All Nizhnites and Ukrainians will never forget this day.”
