There is only one dialysis center in Belize City, Belize, but it’s too expensive for most in a country where the average person makes $4,900 a year.

But Belize City is getting a second dialysis center — one that more Belizeans can afford.

It’s all because of a small but dedicated group of Evanston residents and city staff who have been working for the past six years to make the relationship between Evanston and Belize City the model for sister cities everywhere.

“Belizeans now know Evanston as a household name,” said Yasmin Shoman, a councillor for Belize City. “We’re very grateful.”

Evanston is partnering with a church in Texas to have 13 donated dialysis machines shipped to Belize City.

It will not only make it easier for locals to get dialysis treatment, but also allow Belizeans on dialysis who live abroad to visit their families, said Vallen Whittaker, an Evanston resident from Belize whose aunt in Belize City could not access dialysis before she died.

“The quicker the machines are put into place the more lives will be saved,” said Whittaker, who serves on Evanston’s Sister City Committee. “People in Belize are pleased that there are people in another country who think about us and remember us. It’s nice to know that other people care and are willing to step up.”

Belize is a country of 273,000 nestled between Mexico and Guatemala on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. The official language is English — it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1981 — but Spanish and native languages also are spoken by the nation’s citizens.

The Sister City program began shortly after World War II as a way to build links between communities worldwide and lessen the chance for future conflict.

Evanston and Belize City first started a sister city relationship in 1991, said Samuel Hunter, Evanston’s deputy fire chief and chair of the Sister City Committee. But the contact trailed off and wasn’t reestablished until 1999.

Since then, Evanston has aided Belize City by donating used police cars, training Belizean firefighters and city officials, giving hurricane relief, sending money to orphanages and dispatching Evanston officials to Belize to help out in any way they can.

“It’s quite a shock if you’re used to the standard of living in Evanston,” said David Jennings Evanston’s public works director, who visited Belize in 2001 to help with traffic issues. “It’s a different kind of place.”

The mayor of Belize City and other municipal officials have also visited Evanston, Hunter said. Evanston Mayor Lorraine H. Morton has been to Belize on several occasions, as well.

“I found people very dedicated to what they were doing,” Morton said. “The people from Belize who have been here learned a lot about how things operate. They want to bring their country more up to date.”

Evanston and Belize City may seem like an odd pairing, but they are comparable in size and population.

The only thing that’s different, aside from disparities in technological development, is the culture, Hunter said, and that’s what makes the relationship valuable to Evanston.

“Culturally, we have a better understanding of Belize,” he said. “We’re trying to get more Evanstonians aware that we do have a relationship with Belize City, because we have a sizable population of Belizeans that live here in Evanston.”

Evanston has about 4,000 Belizean residents, Whittaker said. Although Evanston’s relationship with Belize City hasn’t given any material benefits to the local Belizean community, it gives them something perhaps more valuable — pride.

“It just makes us feel more at home that Evanston has embraced us,” she said. “It’s something they didn’t have to do.”

Evanston residents and Belizeans have an annual opportunity to come together: Evanston/Belize Day in the Park. A delegation from Belize visits Evanston for the event, scheduled for August 13, and features Belizean food, arts and crafts, live music and games for kids, Hunter said.

The event also exposes Evanston residents to their sister city’s culture. Dickie’s, a Belizean restaurant on the Chicago-Evanston border which provides the fare for the event, nabs some new customers afterwards, said Clardia Young, the restaurant owner.

“Every so often, you pick up a new group of people,” she said, “once the food is exposed.”

The city also organizes an essay contest for teenage girls.

The winner is crowned Miss Evanston/Belize and is introduced to the community at the Day in the Park, Hunter said. Belize City also has a similar pageant. Evanston’s Miss Evanston/Belize takes a trip to the Central American country.

Morton said Evanston does not expect anything in return from Belize — a country whose economy depends on tourism and exports like sugar, bananas and clothing.

“It’s just like people giving to any municipality anywhere in the world that is in need,” Morton said. “There are people here building schools in Africa, and they don’t get anything in return except the goodwill of the people.”

Reach Mike Cherney at [email protected].