For the love of our children

"I have chosen to serve in this profession for the love of our children, their education and their future" these were the words of Mrs Antonia Warkia, a primary school standard officer in the rural district of Hengenofi in the Eastern Highland Province of Papua New Guinea as well as a committed Lasallian.

Antonia taught in primary schools in the province for 26 years before joining the Standards Division in 2007. She has been a standard office and school inspector for 16 years.

In 2012, she attended a Lasallian Formation weekend retreat with several other teachers in the province. She was blessed to meet and to be inducted by the late Br Ignatius Kennedy (Br Iggy) himself, who taught her about Saint John Baptist de La Salle and the Lasallian Charism. Her newly founded knowledge of the patron saint for teachers prompted her to remain faithful and dedicated to educating young people, especially those in rural and remote schools.

Antonia has accompanied the Eastern Highlands Lasallian Family at the international Lasallian Women's Seminar in Auckland in 2017 and several other national gatherings in Port Moresby. Because of her knowledge of the Lasallian charism, insight and professional advice from working at the Education Department, her presence and participation in these gatherings has been a blessing to teachers.

Caspar Rurray, Area Coordinator for Eastern Highlands, commented, "Mrs Warkia is a testimony to us in Eastern Highlands; she has touched so many lives through the many students she taught whilst a classroom teacher and now thousands more as a school inspector. She is a mother and the cornerstone for the small group of Lasallians in the Eastern Highlands".

(Source: Grace Wrakia, PNG Lasallian Family Coordinator)