FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Sister cities are designed to create bonds between people from different nations around the world. One of Fort Wayne’s sister cities in China has offered to send masks to help our first responders during this pandemic.

Fort Wayne Sister Cities International has been in contact with all of our sister cities during the COVID 19 pandemic, one of those cities being Taizhou, China. With conditions in China appearing to improve while the situation nears a peak in the U-S, Taizhou offered to assemble and send surgical masks to the Summit City. This is all in an effort to help medical professionals and those most vulnerable, from catching and spreading the virus in our community.

“It’s very heartwarming. It just gives me this feeling of, yes, we’re all living in this world together and when we work together we can accomplish so much more,” explained Suzi Hanzel, from Fort Wayne Sister Cities International, “So again it’s very heartwarming and very encouraging. I think it further helps to say why sister cities are important.”

The first shipments totaling 4,000 masks were delivered Wednesday, to the Allen County Health Department. They will distribute this first shipment of masks to emergency service workers and long term care facilities.

Fort Wayne Sister Cities International Inc., says that if the supply remains they are hoping to get a total of 20,000 thousand masks from Taizhou.