Declaring “We were, we are, and we will always be together,” a group of educators in China who studied at the University of Windsor have donated 4,000 face masks to Windsor Regional Hospital.

Many now school teachers in China, the donors are alumni of the Canada-China Reciprocal Learning Program, which brings participants from Southwest University in Chongqing to Windsor for three months of experience in Greater Essex County District School Board institutions.

Chunyan Li, a member of the program’s first cohort in 2010, organized the donation in response to a call for support issued last month by Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens. Additional individual contributions continue to arrive, including a shipment of 1,000 face masks heading to the University.

“We are absolutely overwhelmed by the tremendous outpouring of support by our Chinese partners in the Reciprocal Learning Partnership,” said UWindsor education professor Shijing Xu, the program’s co-director and Canada Research Chair in International and Intercultural Reciprocal Learning in Education.

K.W. Michael Siu, vice-president, research and innovation, echoed Dr. Xu’s sentiments, calling the donation truly exceptional.

“It clearly demonstrates the depth and mutually supportive nature of the collaborations that Dr. Shijing Xu and her team have forged with their partners,” he said. “To everyone involved, please accept my most sincere gratitude on behalf of the University of Windsor and our region.”