World Vision Report

Central American Migrants

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:15 PDT

Like the U.S., Mexico also has immigration problems along its border. In Mexico's case, it's Central Americans crossing into southern Mexico.

The Mexican government is accused of using brutal tactics to control the flood of immigrants. Conrad Fox spends the night with a group of Central Americans as they risk their lives on the journey northward.

Encore presentation from August 3, 2008.

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Parachutes for Life

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:15 PDT

Hundreds of illegal immigrants have died in the deserts of the Southwest after crossing the U.S.-Mexican border in a quest for better paying jobs in America.

Reporter Janet Heimlich travels with an airborne rescue group out of El Paso that spots people crossing the desert and then drops bottles of water to them with tiny parachutes attached. For some of those risking life and limb on the perilous journey, these parachutes have saved their lives.

Encore presentation from August 3, 2008.

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Mexico Soles

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:15 PDT

Got some old shoes lying around the house you want to get rid of? Mona Purdy of Chicago wants them.

She tells Host Peggy Wehmeyer she started sending shoes to Guatemala seven years ago after going on vacation there and seeing kids put hot tar onto their feet because they had no shoes, and realizing some people have never had a pair of shoes their entire life. She formed a non-profit organization called Share Your Soles, which now has volunteers in 13 states shipping gently-used shoes to a number of countries, including Mexico.

Encore presentation from August 3, 2008.

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The Honor System

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:15 PDT

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 â 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.

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Mexico's Street Children

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:15 PDT

Kari Costanza offers an Aid Worker's Diary on her encounter with a Mexican street kid. The teen scrapes by with barely enough to live on, but still is concerned about others.

Encore presentation from August 3, 2008.

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Bug Cuisine

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:15 PDT

Instead of diving into that steak dinner or a Cobb salad tonight, why not a big steaming plate full of crickets, grasshoppers with guacamole, ant eggs in a butter sauce, or grub tacos made with larva? Mmmmm!

Mexico has 500 species of edible insects, many of which are served at a handful of trendy restaurants. The idea may give you the willies, but scientists say edible insects could help end hunger in the world.

Reporter Peter Aronson shares a meal your palate will never forget.

Encore presentation from August 3, 2008.

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Luis' Story

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:15 PDT

When Luis was 12 years old, he left his home in Mexico and traveled 1,600 miles by himself to be re-united with his father in the U.S. He graduated from high school in North Carolina last year and now wants to attend college. But under the law in most states, illegal immigrants who want to attend a state university must pay out-of-state tuition. It's a tough financial reach for a teenager who is in this country illegally.

But Luis is determined to make his dream of a college education come true. Journalist and high school soccer coach, Paul Cuadros, has a portrait of Luis.

Encore presentation from August 3, 2008.

Music for this show ...

Lila Downs

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:15 PDT

Lila Downs was born in Mexico to a Mixteca Indian mother and a Scottish-American father. Growing up, she spent time in both the U.S. and Mexico, and her music reflects both those cultures. She now spends part of the year in New York City and part in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Lila's songs are about everything from small-town ostracism to making mole sauce. In her interview with host Peggy Wehmeyer, Downs says her music is all about educating people on both sides of the border.

Encore presentation from January 2, 2010.

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Missing the Train

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:15 PDT

In a sound-rich Reporter's Notebook, Conrad Fox gives us an up-close and personal look at a man and his daughter trying to hop a freight train heading north.

It's a hair-raising, dangerous method of traveling â if you can catch the train.

Encore presentation from January 2, 2010.

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Mexico Tourism

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:15 PDT

Mexico is a major tourist destination for Americans, but all those dollars you spend south of the border may not benefit the local economy.

Host Peggy Wehmeyer talks with Jonathan Tourtellot of National Geographic's Center for Sustainable Destinations about how to have a vacation in Mexico that puts your dollars in the pockets of locals.

Encore presentation from August 3, 2008.

Music for this show ...