Proyecto DUQ is a registered Mexican non-profit organization begun in 2017 which assists vulnerable children and adolescents. We help them exercise their rights to a decent life by providing cultural, educational and recreational programs. We work out of the Mayor's Office of Iztapalapa, a poor neighborhood in Mexico City.

Around 70% of the Iztapalapa children drop out of school before the age of 14 because their families can't afford the tablets and laptops needed for them to continue in school. In Mexico children are guaranteed an education, but it is not free. Families are expected to provide all school supplies, uniforms, transportation, and often textbooks. So while child labor in Mexico under 15 is illegal, it is fairly common in poor areas. Often they work illegally for drug cartels or in prostitution.

Now, with the pandemic, this has increased due to lack of access to technology. This is why for Proyecto DUQ it is of vital importance to provide the necessary tools so that our boys and girls continue their studies and can reach their life goals.

The  COVID-19 pandemic has forced education to use laptops and tablets to continue schooling, so we need these to be donated as poor families can not afford to buy them. We are currently serving 120 children every week with our educational, cultural and sports programs. We also provide counseling and therapy to those in need of it.

We work through these Programs:

 

Check our Activity Report for the year 2021 here

Education During COVID

In 2020 most students saw their classes interrupted due to the Covid pandemic. Until 2018 Mexico usually had one of the highest school dropout rates in Latin America.

An IDB (Inter-american Development Bank) study projects that when this pandemic ends or normalizes Mexico's dropout rate will increase even more. Surveys show that nationally 53% of Mexican households have internet connections. However, in our neighborhood of Iztapalapa it is much lower. As the pandemic continues the dropout rate will get worse since poor families can't afford tablets or laptops needed in online learning. A 2020 United Nations Development Program study documents that virtual classes causes poor students to fall further behind in reading and mathematics since they have no internet or computers.

At Proyecto DUQ we provide individualized instruction to those students left behind. We hope to receive donations sufficient to provide all neighborhood children an internet connection and a tablet or laptop.

It is known that 53% of households in Mexico have an Internet connection, this leaves students who previously lagged behind at a disadvantage, since they often have fewer opportunities to participate in distance education.

According to an investigation carried out by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP, July 2020), virtual classes can cause loss of fundamental skills acquired in reading and mathematics. This is why at Proyecto DUQ we have focused on providing individualized attention to boys and girls who are behind in school in these areas.