Although we as Canadians see ourselves as a benefactor community, and indeed we do a good job of taking care of the underprivileged, but there are communities which are left forgotten. The aboriginal communities up in the Northern Part of Canada are good examples. While we are busy fundraising for African children, or Syrian refugees, there are people within our own borders that live in poor conditions.
This summer at SHAD valley, I heard of a non-profit organization which was started by a high school student living in Oakville, ON called Ivy Society, which aims to provide better education for all Canadians by fundraising for the Aboriginal communities. At first i was confused, “did they not have their own education system already?” to which he explained that he has himself went to visit those communities and witnessed first hand how poorly structured they are and how poorly represented these communities are in the government system due to the lack of population. He then explained that although they are supposedly funded by the federal government, but because of their small population, the federal government does not deem education in the northern provinces a big enough issue to direct more funding, and as a result those communities suffered heavily from education funding cuts; to the extent that there are some children who can only own one book in their whole lifetime.
With the help of a friend who also attended SHAD valley this summer, Ivy Society is now spreading to the Calgary area. Please check them out on the following website!
calgaryantidiscrimination 