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Bowers returns from Zambia
Los Angeles sister city Lusaka summit conferee
COMPTON (MNS)—Compton Councilman Jonathan Bowers, 3rd District, was honored to be invited and just returned as a special representative of the City of Los Angeles Sister City Program to attend the first World Inter- national Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
Lusaka, Zambia is the capitol of Zambia, and the site of LA’s first recog- nized African sister city. The honor was bestowed upon Bowers for his earlier humanitarian work prior to becoming a Compton City Councilman, which took him to missions to Haiti in the Caribbean from 2013 thru 2017 and to Zambia in 2019.
As a member of the Los Angeles City Black Firefighters, Bowers was notably responsible for handling the logistics for the Lusaka Zambian Humanitarian Project to move 150,000 pounds of fire equipment by ship, taking two weeks, from Port Hueneme, Calif. to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in East Africa, and then by train to Lusaka.
While in Zambia and in Haiti, Bowers and a contingent of firefighters, who accompanied him, trained personnel in Lusaka and Dar es Salaam on the proper use of the equipment, in addition to carrying out requests for emer- gency assistance by the host countries.
Councilman Jonathan Bowers.
The humanitarian effort led to a Letter of Commendation from Zambia's most recent past President Edgar Lungu.
This year’s invitation was extended by Dr. Ernestine Roberts of the LA Chapter of the Lusaka Sister City Committee. The concept of the international sister city network was first advanced by President Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) and the bond with Lusaka was formed in 1967 with the organization of the LA Committee.
In 1979, Thomas Bradley, LA's first black mayor, traveled to Lusaka as a highlight of the organization’s history. A fundraiser to finance the humani- tarian trip was held in January 2019 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, with the First Lady of the Republic of Zambia, Her Excellency Esther Lungu, in attendance along with Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, and former LA councilman Herb Wesson.
This year’s 2023 international multi-cultural gathering in Capetown, South Africa included more than 400 representatives from 20 African nations, the Middle East, Europe, the Caribbean.
"The historic purpose of the sister city affiliation is the promotion of commerce, culture and business between the two cities," said Bowers. "The agenda focused [on] shared interests in three main areas: public Safety, infrastructure, and water and energy alternatives."
While in Africa, Bowers was invited to speak on several guest panels, including the Mayor’s Roundtable of City of Cape Town, South Africa.
Bowers has served 30 years in public service as an emergency medical technician, firefighter, paramedic, engineer and captain, along with extensive hospital emergency room and trauma experience with the Los Angeles County and City of Compton fire departments.
A Compton High School alum, Bowers earned both a bachelor of science degree in fire science administration, and later a teaching credential in 2002.