Urbana City Council members are considering extending the town’s family to African nations.

Through Sister Cities International, Urbana may officially link itself to Zomba, a city in Malawi. In the past, Urbana would have become a sister city with a Chinese town, but lack of consistent interest and key developers kept that plan from continuing. This time around, Council members will be cementing an already positive and healthy cultural relationship.

Some Council members expressed some concern about these future interactions.

“This will be an incredible step for both of our communities,” said Danielle Chynoweth, Ward 2.

“I want to make sure we don’t consume their resources or deepen their possible debt. We should look into their financial situation and make sure we don’t lessen their living standards with high fees.”

Dennis Roberts, Ward 5, is heading this project because of his connections with a chief executive in Zomba who expressed his interest in this move as well. One of the many ways people help the Zomba community is through well-digging, Roberts said. History has shown that after every successfully built well, disease and health problems almost drop to zero as a result of cleaner water.

“Malawi is home to one of the biggest universities in Africa,” Roberts said. “If we don’t go through Sister Cities, we still have a relationship with them that will benefit both of our communities.”

Mayor Laurel Prussing agreed, saying it’s very important to have a broad base of relations around the world.

“It will be good for us to establish these international relationships,” she said. “Ideally, we would want ties in Asia, Africa and Latin America, but Africa is first and most important because we have a bond with them already.”