Edwin Speaks at Convention

From 29 August to 1 September, 2013, Edwin A. represented Ghana at the 15^th Annual Oxford House World Convention held in Washington, DC.  Over 700 people participated in the gathering.  As former president of the Hopeful Way Oxford House and the chief executive officer of the House of St. Francis, Edwin spoke at the breakout session on International Houses.  He said that he gives thanks to Oxford House for being clean and sober today.  He added that “before moving into the house on 31 January, 2011 I had been going in and out, in and out of psychiatric hospitals for many years.  One day some visitors came to the hospital and told me that there was something called a 12-step solution to addiction that was practiced in the Oxford House.  The guys asked me to come and join them and I did because I had been in the hospital for one and a half years and the doctors were telling me to leave.  I was filled with fear of relapse when arriving at the house.  Soon I was elected secretary and treasurer because there were only four of us living in the house.  After some months I became president and was responsible for enforcing the rules and carrying the 12-step recovery method to hospitals.  About 40 residents have lived in the house during the past three years. I was there for two years and another member has been there for three years.  We follow the main Oxford House concepts in Ghana but do a few things differently.  For example, if someone is found to be smoking, it is considered to be a relapse because Ghanaian culture relates smoking to the use of drugs.  We also have a big challenge in finding employment for members of the house who numbered 12 at one time last year.  I am presently working at the House of St. Francis, a three-month treatment facility that sends clients to the Oxford House.  A second house exists in a remote area of Ghana but at present has no members.  This will soon change and a house for women will open before the end of the year.  An Oxford House Chapter is also being put in place with the help of an Oxford House representative in Ghana.  Finally I thank Oxford House, Inc. for inviting me to the convention and for making it possible for Byron Merriweather to help us in Ghana where the Oxford House idea of recovery without relapse is being firmly established.”