As reality shows go, Guatemala's "Desafio 10" would seem destined to be a flop: 10 strangers live in a house for two weeks where they study basic accounting, marketing and customer service. Cameras roll, the young men become friends, some go into business together.

Pretty boring stuff until you realize the 10 participants are former members of some of the most infamous gangs in the Americas -- Mara Salvatrucha, 18th Street, White Fence and North Hollywood. These are the guys that "everybody wants dead or in jail," said Harold Sibaja, the show's creator. . . .

Carlos Zuniga, Guatemalan business leader and mentor to five of the 10, was once convinced, as most Guatemalans are, that the gang problem can only be solved by law enforcement. Through his participation in the show, however, he came to believe that most of the gang members are in fact victims of poverty, abuse and abandonment, and that Guatemalan businessmen can no longer afford to be seen as "soulless with no social conscience." . . .

During the taping, the 10 participants were divided into two groups, each given the task of starting a small business. One group opened a shoeshine and shoe repair shop that has began seeing some success, thanks to its prime location in one of the largest office buildings in Guatemala City. The other group, Zuniga's, chose to start a car wash. While the car wash business has been slower, both Zuniga and Sibaja are convinced that will quickly change once the show airs. Initially all participants wore masks to hide their identities during the taping. But as the days went on all but two took them off. Perez, who was one of the last to remove his mask, said it was fear that kept him wearing it longer. But suddenly he said he got sick of the mask as he realized that "I don't need to be hiding, I am not a criminal no more."