YUGO was actually started sometime in the late 1950's and grew out of the youth ministry of the First Baptist Church of Downey, CA. Eventually, the growth of the work made it necessary for a separate organization to be formed. From 1965 until 1978, YUGO's activities were entirely run by volunteers. Since 1978, our paid staff has grown to 25 and more than 3,000 youth and their leaders work with YUGO each year in the border towns of northern Mexico.