Dubuque for Refugee Children

Dubuque for Refugee Children (D4RC) assists and empowers unaccompanied immigrant minors with their legal, educational, medical and dental needs in their quest to achieve secure, peaceful and sustainable lives. We started with four young people when we incorporated as a not-for-profit in the fall of 2014 and now help over 60 young people and their families, mostly from the Quiché area of Guatemala. Indigenous Guatemalans are descendants of the Mayans. They have had minimal formal education in Guatemala. The youth’s first language is Ixil or K'iche', and now they are learning English. 

D4RC is seeking funds to help pay for the dental, medical and legal care we assist these young people in accessing. We use the immigration system's definition of a juvenile, which is an unmarried youth under the age of 21. We cover a portion of their medical, dental and legal services until they turn 22.

In addition to medical, dental and legal services, we assist our students in enrolling in the Dubuque Community School District, the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) / High School Equivalency Diploma (HiSED) program at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC)’s Dubuque center, or going to the Presentation Lantern Center for English lessons.