Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Jerry Moe may come to Ghana


Jerry Moe, the National Director of Children’s Programs for the Betty Ford Center, was introduced to Recovery Africa/Hopeful Way by Dr. Al Mooney.  Jerry is a noted and respected professional in the field of addiction, and has been running the Children’s Program for The Betty Ford Center for over 14 years.  Jerry is internationally known as an author, lecturer, and trainer on issues for young children from addicted families.  Mr. Moe is interested in coming to Africa; we would like him to come to Ghana in 2014 to study how we might get children of alcoholics and their families involved in recovery from addiction. 

Dr. Whiters & Darcia Johnson going to Ghana


David Whiters, PhD and Ms. Darcia Johnson, MS, both of whom are people in long-term recovery (29 and 9 years respectively), have expressed an interest in coming to Ghana for a few months.  Due to their very tight schedule, they are hoping that their work in Ghana could begin before the end of the year, 2013. They attribute their recovery to being involved in their 12-step recovery programs, involvement in their church, and their faith in God.  David is certified as an addiction professional and is the founder and former Executive Director of Recovery Consultants of Atlanta, Inc., a faith-based, peer-led Recovery Community Organization.  He has vast experiences with the recovery advocacy movement and transitional housing programs.  Both Dr. Whiters and Ms. Johnson have met with Edwin Ahadzie in Atlanta to discuss how they might assist with the House of St. Francis, at the Oxford House, including the proposed recovery house for women, and with Ghana’s recovery advocacy efforts.  They could also assist us with organizing a faith-based recovery conference in Ghana. 

Hopeful Way Foundation in 2013 (Report to Recoery Africa; Oct. 23, 2013)


In general 2013 has been a good year for Hopeful Way Foundation and its assistance towards recovery efforts in Ghana.  It illustrates that “addiction is not contagious but recovery is.”  A growing number of Ghanaians are living good lives in recovery and are carrying the message to others.  Our objective is not to take on long-term responsibility for running recovery programs but rather to assist, for example, by managing the House of St. Francis for three years and establishing an Oxford House Chapter to take responsibility for overseeing Oxford Houses in Ghana.  We continue to experience excellent collaboration with addiction professionals in Ghana, the U.S. and elsewhere.  The Government of Ghana continues to acknowledge and support our recovery work.  We work closely with the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, NGOs and other treatment and rehab facilities.  The HWF conducted over ten training sessions during the year which were often facilitated by Ghanaian and visiting professionals.  Over ten 12-step meetings in the greater Accra area are supported by people in recovery in HWF backed facilities. 

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Head of the House of St. Francis is in the U.S.

Edwin came to the U.S. in May and has been having wonderful experiences here since that time.  We will get him to write something for this blog.  He is currently on a visit to the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery at Texas Tech University and spent about two months studying Recovery Dynamics with Larry Gaines at Serenity Park in Little Rock, Arkansas.  He was then under the care of Dr. Al Mooney and Chris Budnick at the Healing Place of Wake County located in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Edwin then made a presentation at the Oxford House Convention held in Washington, DC and went to Willingway Hospital and the Center for the Addiction Recovery at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia.  He spent time with Emily Eisenhart, Director of the Center for Addiction Recovery and discussed her possible next visit to Ghana in 2014.  Edwin is interested in the new movie "The Anonymous People" which is "out to change the addiction conversation from problems to SOLUTIONS. An independent feature documentary about the over 23 million Americans living in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drug addictions.

Edwin says that Ghana has a lot to learn from the film which  deals with "Deeply entrenched social stigma and mass participation in widely successful anonymous 12-step groups have kept recovery voices silent and faces hidden for decades. The vacuum created by this silence has been filled by sensational mass media depictions of addiction that continue to perpetuate a lurid public fascination with the dysfunctional side of what is a preventable and treatable health condition. Just like women with breast cancer, or people with HIV/AIDS, a grass roots social justice movement is emerging. Courageous addiction recovery advocates have come out of the shadows and are organizing to end discrimination and move toward recovery-based solutions. The moving story of The Anonymous People is told through the faces and voices of the citizens, leaders, volunteers, corporate executives, and public figures who are laying it all on the line to save the lives of others just like them." 

Edwin will try to take a copy of the film to Ghana.