Konmil honoured for her work

By JOY TOROME
Dove Sanctuary Women’s Home founder Elizabeth Konmil is one of the recipients of the 2018 Queen’s award which was invested on Thursday at Government House in Port Moresby.
She received the Order of the British Empire (Insignia of the Member of the Civil Division) for services to the community and women’s development.
Konmil didn’t expect to receive this significant award.
She was overwhelmed when she was notified that her name was on the 2018 Queens’s Honours List.
“I thank God for blessing me with this award,”Konmil said.
Aged 60, she is from Demang village in Kerowagi, Chimbu.
Konmil is married to Dokta Konmil from Minj, Jiwaka.
They have seven children of their own and seven adopted.
Konmil’s father was a policeman who served in many posts in PNG.
She travelled with her parents to several places. Konmil grew up at Kokoda in Northern.
She started her primary education at Kokoda Primary School.
In 1965, Konmil’s family moved to Mount Hagen and she attended Hagen Primary School.
In 1967, her family moved again to Jimi River in Jiwaka and she attended Jimi River Primary School.
Konmil went to Hagen High School and did her grades 7-10 there.
The following year she was selected to the Highlands Nursing College in Goroka.
Unfortunately, Konmil didn’t complete her studies because she got married at the age of 16.
Her husband was a high school teacher and they had their first child in 1975 while her husband was teaching at Tusbab High School in Madang. In the 1980s, Konmil’s husband was transferred to Minj High School and it was there that she established her family business.
She and her husband went into growing coffee and running shops.
While at Minj, it dawned on Konmil that she had a calling to help the Minj Council of Women.
She was the president from 1987 to 2004. During that time, Konmil was also the Highlands Women’s Regional Secretariat president.
In 1987, she led a delegation of women leaders to Australia to seek legal advice from international women activist lawyers on how to involve women in government.
Konmil and her husband went to live for some time in Rabaul from 2004 to 2011. While in East New Britain, her leadership qualities were quickly realised by women organisations there.
While dealing with women’s issues, Konmil discovered that many women faced domestic violence and there was a need to address that issue. In 2004, she started the Dove Sanctuary Women’s Home in Minj, Jiwaka, and fought for the rights and welfare of girls, women and children.
Dove Sanctuary Women’s Home is a safe-house for women and children who face abuse, threats and feel there is nowhere to turn to.
Konmil said working with women was not a new thing to her because her mother was committed top addressing women’s issues while they were in Kokoda.
Her mother worked alongside Dame Mary Kekedo from whom she got the inspiration.
“I help those women who are affected by domestic violence not because I want to be recognised, but because of my heart for the womenfolk,” Konmil says.
“My desire is for women to have better lives.”
Through her association, she assists women and children in distress and empowers them to face life.
Konmil also has a legacy of looking after children who have been disadvantaged, neglected or orphaned.
She has touched the hearts and lives of many people in Papua New Guinea.