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Guatemala
Ten Young Former Gangsters Start Businesses on Guatemala Reality Show
The following is reprinted from Frontlines,
March 2006 issue.
 A
less-than-typical, five-episode reality show will air here
in March: it will follow the transformation of 10 former young
gangsters into small business owners.
Funded by USAID and private businesses, the reality gang show dubbed Challenge 10: Peace for the Ex, will document the life of the 10 former gangsters as they live together for two weeks in the same house. They will be taught basic skills in accounting, customer service, human resources, sales, marketing, and motivation. At the end of the show, they will establish a car wash and a shoe repair business.
"This is basically trying to promote the idea of rehabilitation as an alternative to relying only upon repression or law enforcement as a means," said José Garzon, a democracy and governance officer with USAID/Guatemala. "When you have 150,000 gang members in a country with only about 8,000 jail spaces, you have to figure out how to deal with the rest."
"A lot of gang members want to get out of gangs and have left," he added, "but they are hard to employ."
The show participants had already abandoned gang life. Some had joined evangelical churches, as under gang rules, religion and death are the only legitimate ways to get out of gangs.
 In
the show, five of the participants will spend their time washing
cars in the parking lot of a housewares store in downtown
Guatemala City. The other five participants will set up and
run a small shoeshine and repair shop in an upscale office
building in a residential neighborhood.
Quite often, it is the lack of opportunities that motivates young people to join gangs, Garzon said. "We have to give them a chance," he said, adding that the reality show is doing just that.
"Many young people are able to give up gangs by joining a church, but no one will give them jobs," he added. "They are just there with bibles in their hands.... The lack of opportunities motivates them again as gangsters."
 USAID
invested about $300,000 in this project through the Global
Development Alliance. USAID/Guatemala has put in another $900,000
over time. The Guatemalan private sector and federal government
have supported the program, which is being carried out by
Creative Associates.
The project targets youth at risk, aiming to deter them from becoming involved in gangs as well as rehabilitating former gang members. It runs three youth houses, sponsored by donors and the Guatemalan government, where former gangsters can get nonformal education and receive counseling. The project also worked with five crime prevention councils that organize programs with schools and get youth at risk involved in sports.
"The idea [behind the show] is to put a human face on the whole phenomenon
because it hasn't been done before," Garzon said. "You hear
about a lot of awful things that gangs do, so it's easy to
dehumanize them. But when you hear a life story, of someone
who got in and out, it has a whole new meaning for people."
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USAID in Guatemala works with youth, aiming to deter
them from becoming involved in gangs as well as rehabilitating
former gang members. A project runs three youth houses,
sponsored by the Guatemalan government, where former
gangsters get nonformal education and receive counseling.
It also works with five crime prevention councils
and schools that get youth at risk involved in sports
and hobbies such as chess.
“You hear about a lot of awful things that
gangs do, so it’s easy to dehumanize them. But
when you hear a life story, of someone who got in
and out, it has a whole new meaning for people.”
—José Garzon, USAID
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