David Ulg Ketepa writes about being a teacher in Papua New Guinea on Balob Teacher’s College 50 Years Anninversary.

David Ulg Ketepa comes from a small village Minimp. It is 10 minutes drive west of Mt Hagen.

He attended the Balob Teacher’s college in Lae, from 1992 to 1994 after completing grade ten at Kombolopa High School in the W.H.P. He got two teacher training offers from Madang Teachers College and Balob Teachers College (BTC) and being a Lutheran he chose Balob.

Mr Ketepa acknowledges his teachers back then and shares the following.

Let me share one thought here….Being a TEACHER is not about that paycheck, job, or position, title, profession rather it is about finding and making time available to help others. God had called and chosen YOU among the many Papua New Guineans to equip, mould, and strengthen you to go out to the world to SERVE.

That is where BTC’s moto ‘To Serve comes into play’.

BTC is not an ordinary college but a college for those who are called by name to make a commitment to serve others and make a difference. So, you being at BTC now or had been or will be is not a fluke! 

I graduated in 1994 with a Diploma In Teaching Primary (DIP) and I was posted the following year in 1995 to a remote school in WHP. I committed my two years (1995-1996) teaching in that school without pay and at the end of my second year, I was promoted to senior teacher and posted to a different school in the same district but a little further up toward Mount Hagen City.

Seeing my efforts and the level of commitment I had toward my students, fellow staff and the surrounding communities, the school chipped in to help me purchase plane tickets for me to go to Port Moresby to check up on my pay. So, it was three and half years teaching without pay. I got my pay backdated since I started teaching so that was so sweet. So, when I say, commitment, I know what I am talking about.

At the end of the two years (1997-1998), I was promoted again and posted to Kuk-Baisu Primary School, next to the Baisu Correctional Facility(CIS).

After a year and half (1999-2000) teaching at Kuk-Baisu Primary, I decided to leave teaching for further studies. I was only teaching for 5 and half years and got promoted twice within the five years.

My desire to study overseas derived from the good-hearted American volunteers who came to BTC and taught us. Their level of volunteerism and the enthusiasm they had motivated me to go study, especially in America. So, I started planning what I will be doing after leaving BTC.

Here are few simple rules:
· I used that which kept me going thus far. I had made a commitment to always stick with God and my family, and
·  A strong commitment to my call as a teacher to serve others. I told myself that I will do whatever it takes to go to study in America. That means, I had to say NO to girlfriends and marriage, gambling, drugs and alcohol, and unnecessary spending.
· I spent all my money on research in PNG and overseas regarding scholarships.

ELC-PNG, (Ampo) turned me down four times even though my application for scholarship was endorsed by the district and got what Ampo needed on it.

But I did not give up. Thank God, with the help of the Melpa Lutheran Church in Papua New Guinea (MLC-PNG) and my friends in Germany, I could be able to find a lucrative scholarship to study in America for four years with all expenses covered with a stipend.

I left Kuk-Baisu Primary School and PNG for the USA in February of 2000. Completed studies in 2005. Got married here in 2006. I work and live with my wife and daughter in Michigan in USA.

My advice to my fellow teachers (students) at Balob or those who are at the field is simple; you are called for a purpose not for money or fame but for a service to a common good. When you commit yourself to your call, nature has a way of rewarding you. Keep hoping and live a life of forgiveness and service to others and be honest in all your dealings.

In my stay in the USA I have hosted youth and members of ELC-PNG who come to the state of Michigan under ELC-PNG and ELCA partnership programs to work at ELCA camps and congregational visits. Over the years, my family have hosted people from the ELC-PNG here and we are happy to do that.

I hope my story inspires and encourages someone to be a servant rather than a teacher. BTC- To Serve: Yes, Indeed!

Let us know if you are visiting USA and the state of Michigan. Ol wantok stap!

Happy Teaching!