Video: Barrio de Paz

Hilary Hart | June 2008 issue

In the barrios of Guayaquil, Ecuador an amazing transformation is taking place. Through the efforts of one woman, rival gangs have formed truces, turned in their weapons and have started working together to rebuild the community.

Nelsa Libertad Curbelo Cora is proponent of non-violence who has fought for Indigenous people's rights and worked as a mediator in armed conflicts throughout South America. In 1999, she founded the organization Ser Paz (Being Peace) specifically to work with youth gangs in Ecuador's southern city of Guayaquil. Through her work, many of Guayaquil's most dangerous gangs have disarmed, agreed to abandon violence and are now working together to rebuild the community.