Week of May 7, 2011
The Honor System
El Alberto, Mexico, is located just north of Mexico City.
Description
Thousands of Mexicans come to the U.S. every year looking for work. That exodus of young people can have a serious economic impact on the impoverished communities they leave behind.
But everyone who leaves the town of El Alberto knows that at some point, they'll have to come back — for a year of community service. It's a long-standing custom that ensures the economic vitality of the community. Workers return to the village to fix up the school, pave the streets, and do other community improvement projects. Some of those who return to El Alberto have no intention of staying, but they say they do it as a matter of honor.
Jordana Gustafson reports.
Encore presentation from August 3, 2008.
