Trading Guns for Nail Polish

In the most dangerous neighborhood of Guayaquil -- Ecuador's largest and most crime-ridden city -- a dozen youths are busy working in the Paz Urbana Print Shop. By the entrance, a young man designs a T-shirt logo with graffiti paint. In the back, amid the hip-hop music and paint fumes, tattooed young men with baggy pants and baseball caps compile an order of worksheets for schools. The print shop is part of an organization of small businesses, including a bakery, a beauty parlor, and a dance school, with a surprising business model -- they are entirely run by Ecuadorean street gang members, many of whom were once rivals. At the heart of this operation that has helped produce a dramatic drop in neighborhood crime, is a former nun and school teacher, Nelsa Curbelo, from Uruguay. Upon first glance, the gentle, grandmotherly Nelsa looks out of place. But later, watching her comfortable interactions with the tough-looking youths, the affection and respect she commands is evident.

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