Anastasia Moloney looks at the many difficulties that former gang members confront in El Salvador even if the gangs for some reasons allow them to leave the life.
"Gang members never really had an opportunity. We support those who have a desire to change and to rehabilitate. No one hires ex-convicts or gang members. Their families are also stigmatised," said Nestor Granados, head of sales at the Project Metamorphosis factory.
"They find doors are closed. Most people just want to see them locked up for good... Society needs to recognise that violence is everyone's problem. It's not just a gang problem."
Run by a Christian organisation Love Link, the factory has a waiting list with the names of hundreds of people hoping to get a job and earn the minimum monthly wage of $237.
One former gang member and ex-wife of a gang leader is relieved to have ended a life of crime.
"Many people get involved in gangs because they need the money. But before you know it, you are sucked in and are looking after weapons, selling drugs and involved in extortion," said the 28-year-old, who did not want to give her name.
"Fear is always present. Fear the police will get you, fear a rival gang member will kill you, fear of walking into the wrong neighbourhood. I felt confined," she said against the din of machines.
While she could earn up to $1,000 a week as a gang member, she divorced her husband and left the gang because she did not want to put any future children in danger.
But reintegrating into normal life is an uphill struggle.
"Before I didn't really have to work. We had our own rules," she said, glueing labels on shoes. "This isn't easy money. It's hard work."
Glasswing International and
Project Metamorphosis are two organizations mentioned in the article that are working to prevent young people from becoming involved in gangs and to help rehabilitate former gang members.
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