Nearly 40 per cent of indigenous youth do not graduate from high school in Canada.

To help remedy that situation, the Fu Hui Education Foundation, a charitable organization based in Canada, announced that it will partner with the Martin Family Initiative (MFI) and its founder Paul Martin, the former prime minister of Canada, to improve the education of First Nations children and youth on Tuesday in Richmond Hill.

MFI is committed to improving elementary and secondary school education outcomes for First Nations students in Canada, while the members of Fu Hui are Canadians of Chinese origin who strongly believe that it is an

obligation to look after children and youth, particularly those living in minority communities. Several discussions have been held to find ways that both sides could collaborate.

"I feel so strongly about partnering with Fu Hui, such an impressive organization of Chinese community in Canada," said Martin. "Our joint goal is that First Nations People will have the same social and economic opportunities as non-indigenous Canadians."

Each year, Fu Hui holds an annual fundraising gala to raise funds for the coming year, and this year's function is to be held on June 23.

"The focus of this year's gala is to support MFI's groundbreaking Model School Literacy Project; our target is $300,000, which will be used to improve libraries in the participating six First Nations elementary schools," said Judy San, president of Fu Hui.

In the last two years, Fu Hui has set up close to 150 classroom libraries in China. A variety of books are now made available to students to encourage reading and thus quench their thirst for knowledge. In return, students are requested to write book reviews to reflect how the books have helped them in their studies.

renali@chinadailyusa.com