Amazing drug rehabilitation success involving olive oil?

The success rate at El Buen Samaritano Christian drug rehabilitation centre near Pozoblanco, Spain, is twice the national average.

Their combination of prayer, therapy and olive oil (more on that in a moment) means that 24% of those who pass through its doors will never even smoke a cigarette again, while more than 7 in 10 will never revert to drug taking!

Luciano Cabrera, mayor of the nearby city of Alcaracejos, admits that "Spain has got a geographical position that lends itself to the trafficking of drugs and people." The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction lists Spain as the key country in the trafficking of both cannabis and cocaine.

El Buen Samaritano owns a 150-year-old olive grove which stretches over 12 hectares of steep hillsides. The harvesting is done by those involved in the rehabilitation program using the same techniques used by farmers for hundreds of years. And the oil produced here has been rated as some of the best in the country.

The key to success, according to psychotherapist and centre director Raul Garcia, is to give the men a sense of purpose. "They need to learn to love a job. They know that bringing the harvest in will buy food for them and for other people... I have seen lives changed."

European Christian Mission helps to sponsor this project through a unique adopt-a-tree scheme. One thousand of the trees are up for adoption for £40 each, and the sponsor will receive a 3-litre container of extra virgin olive oil direct to their door. Find out more at www.buensam.org.uk

(adapted from an article by Hazel Southam published in Idea Magazine)