Oral Testimonies
A follow-up to the popular "Positive Life" (Panos South Asia, 1999), this partnership project with SC-UK documents testimonies of people, particularly women and children, whose lives have been changed by someone in the family testing positive for HIV or succumbing to AIDS.

The first book, in English, is a collection of testimonies from Andhra Pradesh in India. They are poignant reflections of women from all sections of society and of all ages - young daughters, widows young and middle-aged, mothers and mothers-in-law, and even an old grandmother, - who are infected or affected by the disease. They speak of their desperation for money to buy medicines and the callous indifference of not just the society but even some doctors and hospitals. But amidst all this, there is also the spirit of family caring and cooperation, and some positive examples of correct counseling and care that provide a ray of hope.

The Nepali testimonies,  published simultaneously in the original Nepali and in English, bring out the voices of some of these people - some living in abject poverty in remote villages and others from middle class and rich families in cities. Because the testimonies of families dealing with an IDU (Injecting Drug User) relative were so strong, it was decided in the case of Nepal to focus on such cases in this book and leave out the voices of children for another book, about and by children. The testimonies selected for this  book cover a broad range of issues - the dilemma and desperation of women with drug-abusing positive husbands/sons/brothers and the hardships, struggles of widows and orphans left behind. These are powerful tales that tell of the frustrations among surviving relatives who have to live with the difficulties and trauma of having someone affected by HIV/AIDS in the family - for some, death has brought sorrow, but sadly for many there is hope that death of their relatives will bring relief. The books were launched in  2002.