Convention in Kathmandu 2017
When I was in my first few months of recovery I worked Step 2 in the Step Working Guide. The first question is „What do I have hope about today?“ I answered I hoped to travel. My journey to the APF meeting in Nepal began in July 2016 at the ECCNA in Paris. I am in service at the European Delegates Meeting and we were really pleased to welcome Carrie (APF Merchandise Chair) to our meeting. She invited us to come to Nepal to attend the APF Conference along with their first Zonal Convention as well.
The business meeting was interesting in ways the Asia Pacific and European Zonal meetings are very similar, though there are also differences. Women face far higher cultural barriers to attending meetings in many Asian countries. Also, safety concerns can stop people from getting to meetings, it was really awe-inspiring to hear of members doing Fellowship Development work in Afghanistan. A big topic of discussion at the EDM is how seating at the World Service conference can be improved, so it was interesting to see that the Asia Pacific has comparable discussions. As an English speaker it was only when I got to the European Zone I really found out how important translation work is to spread the message of NA around the world and at the APF. I again saw how much this work means to addicts in emerging fellowships. I also had an amazing experience at the convention that followed the business meeting. I heard speakers from Asia and the rest of the World and enjoyed lots of fellowships.
My holiday continued with me being covered in color powder during the Holi Festival and seeing the beauty of Nepal and India. I returned home with a sense of gratitude and optimism. APF covers half the world’s population including 6 of the 10 most populous countries. I hope that the next few years really see the fellowship grow in Asian countries where NA is becoming established and has the opportunity to help very large communities of addicts hear the NA message of recovery in their own languages. Thank you to all the people that made me feel welcome in Nepal.
Graham, UK