1. Alcohol - Leyford, Zambia

“Alcohol was a way for me to escape. We had hunger at home and I was ill. There was little money and it had to go for food and medicine. And I found myself drinking with my friends to escape from the problems at home.”“Way back before I came to know my status I used to be a heavy drinker of alcohol. I started to experience health problems in 1987. I still continued drinking beer (Mosi & Castle) and smoking. Whenever I drank I used to have problems – headache and fever, especially at night.The problem became more serious especially after I was found with TB in 1993. The doctor advised me to cut down on smoking and drinking while I was on treatment. But it was not easy, the first step I took was to try to stop smoking. After 8 months of TB treatment I recovered fully but still I used to drink some beer, all my friends were beer drinkers. Most of the time I was with them I found myself going back to my old ways. In 1995 I had a TB relapse and this time it was severe.You can say you won’t go back to drink but your friends will influence you. You can tell them your health will not allow you to drink. They will respond that this is rubbish, that drinking has nothing to do with your health. In my situation everything was not okay, we had hunger at home and I was ill. There was little money and it had to go for food and medicine and you found yourself drinking it off with friends.It was just last year, 2004, after the death of my wife that I started to see some symptoms. Body pains continuously. I used to go to the clinic but was just being given panadol. This time every time I drank I fell very sick – I was experiencing night sweat and fever, flu and abdominal pains. It was not until my wife died that I took an HIV test. I knew it all along but I just wasn’t ready to face the truth.After the test the doctor advised me to minimize drinking and smoking. To work on my diet. I decided to stop both there and then. From this time my flu and night sweat has disappeared. There are no longer illnesses I can’t account for. It was only when I knew my status that I finally decided to give up alcohol. I knew if I did drink I could die. I knew how dangerous it was. Never again – I’ll never go back.”[Credits]This testimony was granted in 2005 to the Positive Living Handbook (page 37) and recorded in 2018 as a test of this new podcast by Zambia Peace Corps Volunteer Adam Greenberg, Rural Aquaculture Promotion. Music by Adam Greenberg. Podcast cover art by Kristen Jussila.Translation assistance by counterpart Ba Daniel Albert Chileshe.Leyford, thank you for sharing your story. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hivpositivevoices.substack.com