A decades-old relationship between Sebastopol and its Ukrainian sister city, Chyhyryn, has taken on new importance since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. For the last few years, Sebastopol World Friends (SWF), the organization that founded and maintains the town’s sister city relationships, has been helping to turn an aging, Soviet-era college dormitory into safe, habitable housing for people who have lost their homes because of the war. SWF has already contributed over $100,000 to renovations to the dormitory.
This summer SWF helped coordinate a grant project through Rotary International that resulted in an award of $143,000 to help complete renovations to the dormitory in Chyhyryn. The grant was awarded to the Rotary Club of Cherkasy-Centre in Ukraine and the Rotary Club of Sebastopol. Rotary Club of Cherkasy-Centre took on the lion’s share of the complex task of developing the actual grant applications and will provide substantial on-the-ground supervision and accountability for the completion of the work.
Putting the grant together was a complicated process.
“The Rotary Grant works in three parts,” said Steve Levenberg, a volunteer with Sebastopol World Friends. “There’s a local contribution of $48K—$40K of which came from Sebastopol World Friends. A Rotary district (in this case, Northern California District) provided 1.2 times the local contribution, and Rotary Global matched 80% of that amount. All that totaled $143K.”
“The grant project is the continuing renovation of the college dormitory for those who have lost their homes and villages in eastern Ukraine and have fled to a place that is free of any combat,” said Steve, who, with his wife Patty, has been deeply involved in the whole process.
The four-story dormitory in Chyhyryn is divided into multiple units, each with a kitchen, two bathrooms and four bedrooms. Each unit can accommodate up to 12 people. Twelve of these units—on the top two floors—needed reconstruction.
Sebastopol World Friends first became involved in the dormitory project in 2024, when they were asked to help repair the building’s deteriorating roof. The roof was collapsing, leaving the building’s upper two floors uninhabitable. At the time, about 40 displaced people were living there.
“The top floors were in ruins; the walls were all falling apart,” said Patty, who is the treasurer of Sebastopol World Friends. “So the first thing we did … we sent money for the roof repair.” That repair was completed by summer 2024.
A sister city relationship threatened by war and politics
The dormitory project grew out of a relationship between Sebastopol and Chyhyryn that stretches back more than three decades.
Sebastopol has two sister cities: Takeo, Japan, and Chyhyryn, Ukraine. The sister city relationship with Takeo (formerly Yamauchi) began in 1985. The relationship with Chyhyryn began in 1993. Both programs initially involved annual youth exchange programs. The youth exchanges continue in Japan, but were suspended in Ukraine in 2014 due to the ongoing armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
Sebastopol was initially paired with Chyhyryn in part because of similarities between the two towns, including their agricultural economies, demographics and opposition to proposals to build nuclear power plants.
For Sebastopol World Friends, the relationship is based on what is known as citizen diplomacy—the idea that connections between ordinary people and communities can continue even when relations between governments are strained.
“It’s to promote citizen diplomacy,” Patty said. “Dwight Eisenhower started the program. The idea is if people of the world know each other, we can have world peace.”
In 1956, Eisenhower convened the White House Conference on People-to-People Relations. The initiative encouraged international relationships between citizens and communities as a complement to government diplomacy — a radical idea at the time for the Republican president. The movement eventually became Sister Cities International, an independent nonprofit established in 1967.
Sebastopol World Friends was formed in 1985 as a city commission and organizing group, and was officially commissioned by the City of Sebastopol in 1988 to run the Sister City Program. Today, Sebastopol World Friends has approximately 120 members and a similar number of active volunteers.
Though youth exchanges with Ukraine have ended for now, Sebastopol World Friends has funded a number of visits from delegations of Ukrainian professionals, including groups of teachers, mental health workers and government officials.
The relationship with Chyhyryn has faced challenges in recent years because of the Trump Administration’s skeptical stance on Ukraine.
“In 2018, for the 25th anniversary of the relationship, we had allocated funds to bring a delegation from Chyhyryn to Sebastopol to celebrate the relationship, but the State Department would not issue them visas,” Steve said. “So at the last minute they couldn’t come.”
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 further disrupted the program’s traditional exchange programs. Sebastopol World Friends instead began looking for ways to provide direct assistance to its sister city.
Chyhyryn, in central Ukraine, has not experienced the same level of direct fighting as communities closer to the front lines. But the city and surrounding area have received thousands of people displaced by the war.
Before the invasion, Chyhyryn had a population of approximately 9,300, while the larger Chyhyryn region (known as a territorial community) had about 22,887 residents. Since the invasion, approximately 2,464 internally displaced people, including about 700 children, have registered within the territorial community. More than 15,000 people fleeing the war are estimated to have passed through the community as a transit point.
The dormitory project has allowed Sebastopol World Friends to continue its sister-city relationship in a different way, shifting from traditional cultural and youth exchanges toward humanitarian assistance, which is new territory for the nonprofit.
Fundraiser planned for Oct. 4
While the Rotary grant will have a big impact, the Levenbergs say more money is needed to complete the dormitory project.
“The $143K will cover 60% of the remaining cost,” Steve said. “Sebastopol World Friends expects to raise the remaining 40%, which is $60K.”
They plan to raise that amount through a series of upcoming events.
“So we have a heavy lift in raising this additional $60,000,” Steve Levenberg said. “The first event in that process is Shashlik and Beer,” which will take place this weekend on Sunday, Oct. 4, 1 pm to 4 pm, at Ragle Ranch Park.
Shashlik and Beer will feature Ukrainian barbecue known as shashlik and a limited-release Ukrainian-style beer produced through a collaboration between Crooked Goat and BrewArt, a Ukrainian brewery.
“As for the beer, it is going to be a Black IPA—a very rare but still amazing style that combines hoppiness, bitterness, and a stout-ish style,” said Yeven Moskalenko, a brewer with BrewArt.
Todd Carey, the brewer at Crooked Goat Brewing in Sebastopol, and the brewers in Ukraine traded recipes, and Todd brewed up a batch of World Friends Black IPA from the Ukrainian recipe, which will be served at the October 4th event. It’s also currently available at Crooked Goat. (Carey became connected with SWF when his family hosted a Japanese student from Takeo this spring.)
Echoing Sebastopol World Friends’ tagline, “World Peace, One Friend at a Time,” Carey quipped, “Bringing people together, one beer at a time.”
Sebastopol World Friends’ John Kreidler, a home brewer, is also brewing a Ukrainian Orange Ale that he has named Zelensky’s Orange Juice.
Some of the Ukrainians who relocated to the Sebastopol area after Russia’s invasion in 2022 will help prepare the food, including Ukrainian side dishes and salads.
“The food will be really authentic, so we are excited about that,” Patty said.
Ukrainian Iryna Hubar, who is coordinating the food, met with Fernando Pacheco, a SWF board member who manages the kitchen at Willow Wood Market Café in Graton, to talk about the menu. (Fernando became involved with SWF when his daughter participated in the student exchange with Takeo, Japan, a few years ago. )
Hubar and Pacheco were talking about flatbreads that might pair well with shashlik. Pacheco had Hubar taste a bread that they made at Willow Wood. Hubar exclaimed: “Oh my God, this is the exact flavor I remember. It’s like the bread my grandmother used to bake in the village! Here, thousands of kilometers apart and decades later, Fernando has produced that same distinctive taste.”
You can get a taste of the culture and cuisine of Ukraine at Shashlik and Beer this Sunday. Tickets must be purchased online in advance. Get tickets HERE.
Hurray to Steve and Patty Levenberg for their and the World Friends group's devotion to this cause. They have remained focused on this tragedy for years. Much gratitude.
On behalf of Sebastopol World Friends, and our friends in Chyhyryn, I would like to extend enormous thanks to the Sebastopol Times and Ashley Dudleston for taking the time to dive deeply into our connection with our Ukrainian sister city. And the timing of the article was right on. Within 24 hours of posting, we had sold out the event, allowing us to bring in over $20,000 towards the completion of the Chyhyryn Dormitory Renovation Project. The generosity of the Sebastopol community comes through again!--Patricia Deignan, Chair, Chyhyryn Committee, Sebastopol World Friends