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Reto was founded at the end of May 1985 in Cantabria, Spain, and is a non-profit organisation whose articles of incorporation were signed on December 2nd of the same year.
Reto came into being when the founder and his family, living as missionaries in another country and sharing the word of God with people who had never heard the gospel, were led to Spain. Having no idea what would happen here, they found themselves involved in helping a young drug addict, who was wandering the streets. They took him into their home and, because of subsequent events that followed, they found it necessary to rent a house in order to receive more people, who were interested in receiving help. This house is known today as RETO 1 and is located in Santander, Spain.
The centre became increasingly well-known and, having a high rate of successful rehabilitation, soon the demand for new admissions grew. New houses were opened in Cantabria and also in other Spanish provinces. At the end of 1987, the bylaws were revised, the name was changed and its scope went from territorial to national. The final name given to this NGO was ASOCIATION RETO A LA ESPERANZA (Hope Challenge Association) and its members were mostly young ex-drug addicts who, once free from the bondage of their addictions, chose to dedicate their lives to help others have the same opportunity that they had been given.
The Association was registered in the Registry of Associations of the Ministry of Domestic Affairs with the number 3.594, on December 12, 1985 and also in the regional registries of each autonomous community. On January 27, 1995 RETO was designated a public-interest organization by the council of ministers.
Who We Are
The drug addiction phenomenon has no boundaries; it knows no racial or social distinctions. Countries from the five continents, no matter how developed or undeveloped they may be, are affected by this problem. New doors have been opened in the last years for dealing with the problem and RETO expanded its work in these directions also. In some cases, the governments lack economical means and are overwhelmed by it. In other cases, the governments of the developed countries have the means, but have accepted and accommodated themselves to living with the drug problem. Not being able to find a definite solution, they are becoming dangerously resigned to it.
Our motivation in extending our assistance outside our boundaries comes from knowing, through the testimony of our volunteers, that there truly is a definite solution to this problem and a way to be completely free from addiction.
Some of our international projects have been in operation for years now, while some are just beginning. In some cases, our centers in Spain have been cooperating with the health aid project carried out by RETO Mexico.
Reto International
RETO should be considered today a major social work and a respected NGO because it plays an important role in society in general and especially in the effort of helping drug dependent persons. However, we want to emphasize that, what is really important and the only thing that is worthy of being acknowledged, is the fact that there is nothing that we can have or do in order to help others, except what God has already done through His Son for many of us. This is the root, from which all that we want to do. That is our real motivation.
After having been operating for some years now, we want to go on with the same purpose that RETO had in the first place - that is, bringing a message of truth, hope and life to lost humanity, not only in drugs and delinquency, but also in politics, humanism, religion, science and so many other things that lead men to put their trust in something besides God and the purpose He has for their lives.
Confidence in governmental systems and the wisdom of men, who deny and try to nullify the principles established by God in His Word, will lead the world more and more into confusion and chaos. That is why we in RETO want to keep on with our confidence in God and take the Bible as our guide, since it contains all the answers that a person needs and that his Creator has given to him.
When God sent His Son Jesus into this world in.
Ideology
Information & Prevention
Every year thousands of leaflets are handed out in different areas of each state and especially in “hot spots”, where there is a high rate of drug use and crime. The possibility of free and immediate admission in the centre is always presented.
We also aim to create public awareness of the fact that there is a real, final solution to the problem of drug addiction.
Some of the ways we try to inform and offer prevention are by:
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Street campaigns for adults and children (puppets)
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Information offices in mobile units
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Mass media information (radio, newspapers, billboards) Publications
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Visits to different prisons and institutions
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Prevention campaigns in schools and colleges
By all these means we try, not only to inform about the risk and consequences of drug use and alcohol, but also to transmit a message of hope to those who, for whatever reason, lack it. Our desire is to transmit the truth that the main need of every human being is to make peace with God.
Apart from the already-mentioned projects, there are other voluntary projects carried out by the people in Reto. Assistance is offered to the sick, both in hospitals and homes, and soup kitchens are opened and are of great help. “El Faro” in Madrid and “Rescate” in Santander are places, where people in need come daily to ask for help. These places were, in some cases, the initial step taken by some drug dependent persons in the process of seeking rehabilitation offered by our Centre.