Love for beer is life of hell

RIGHT after my Gr 10 exam from Fr Peter Fatima Secondary School in 2007, a combined end-of-year function was hosted for us the graduating lot (Grade 10s and 12s) from Bung Three ward of Sigri, at Village Camp.
We partied with food and beverages and danced till daybreak.
Since I could not afford beer, I went for pure homebrew steam, which we boiled at Kupkap village, a week in advance, anticipating for that day.
In fact, most youngsters and members of the community enjoyed a share of the sip that night.
Then again, in 2009, after my Year 12 exam, we had our function at Waibine Nol guesthouse.
My guardians and sponsors entertained me with beer till daybreak. Their intention was clear. They were proud of my achievements and felt with confidence that I was destined for tertiary studies.
They never thought about the repercussions it would have later on in my life.
Long script short, I was lucky to secure a space at UPNG.
First year in, peer influence struck me. Continued going out to social events and had drinking sessions.
Family members in Port Moresby offered me alcohol on weekends. I did not feel any responsibility towards anyone but myself. The year 2010-13 were my young, wild, and free days.
But tragedy struck in 2013. My father passed on.
He had succumbed to mouth cancer. The man who sacrificed to see his only son break the cycle of poverty through education had his eyes closed from enjoying the fruits of his labor by fate.
I graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts major in Journalism and Media Studies.
Luckily, I started employment with The National right away in 2014 as a reporter in Port Moresby. I thank The National for giving me my first formal employment opportunity and experience up to this day.
My drinking habits continued to rob my pay packet.
I had a lot of friends who seemed genuine and always had the right words to lift my spirits. I believed in them but never had the slightest of clue that they were just there to con me to please them by using me as their conduit of spending.
My addiction to alcohol led me to make reckless decisions in life.
I made some stupid and silly decisions in life which continued to haunt me still. No goals in life, no priority, all was enjoyment with friends.
It led me to fathering a child in 2015. The boy will turn nine later this year. Never got married to the mother of the child.
I sought a transfer to Mt Hagen in mid-2016 and was granted approval. I was not aware that I had tuberculosis (TB). I am convinced it could have been caused by my exposure to punish my body through heavy drinking sessions held in the settlements and sacrificing my body countless times with sleepless nights, and being exposed to heat and dust, and the hot climate.
I now realise that I made the right decision to fly out of Port Moresby and head back home to the Highlands where I was born to live and work.
I am very grateful and indebted to my big sister, Rose, who taught at Nazarene College of Nursing for taking me on board to be part of her family.
She was not only my sister, but become the motherly figure where all the mentorship, and counselling came from. She guided me to know and understand God.
Four years, I killed it in Kudjip. Kudjip became my home.
She paid off my hospital bills and there I went under the knife, under the capable hands of surgeons Dr Jim Radcliffe and his son, Dr Benjamin Radcliffe.
After clocking five years with The National, I resigned in 2019 and went for further studies in a different field – teaching.
I undertook one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme at UOG.
Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 restrictions, we graduated in absentia.
I was lucky to have secured a teaching position at Waghi Valley Secondary School in Jiwaka and served there for two and half years (2020-mid 22) under Betty Wena, our principal at the time.
I got married in 2021 to a beautiful girl from Jimi, who blessed our lives with a beautiful baby boy, who will turn two by the end of this month.
I left teaching and joined the Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA) in June 2022 as their media officer and based in Goroka now.
But I would lie if I said alcohol has left me. In fact, it is still my number one enemy.
Countless resolutions have I resorted to, but I could not last a week or two, and the old demon returns.
It is a battle I’m continuing to fight. I hate it with all my guts and senses, but it still finds a way to get to me.
It creeps into my budget and deprives the attention I should be giving to God, my loved ones who rely on me, and those who invested in me.
Alcohol has tricked me into forming a fake relationship that has robbed me hundreds of thousands of kinas that could have bought me a car, a decent home, and a healthy bank account.
If there is someone that I believe can release me from this prison of alcohol addiction and set me free into a new path of freedom and sobriety, I believe and trust, it is none other than Jesus Christ. He can grant me this new experience.

Tee
Goroka