Australia Day new citizens: Nurse from the Philippines shares her journey
Feeling safe, nice respectful people and Australian family values are just some of the reasons this nurse from the Philippines decided to settle in Australia.
NewsLocal tracked down people becoming citizens this Australia Day and asked them about their journey. Sheena-Ann Talao from the Philippines will be attending the Hornsby Shire Council citizenship ceremony. She shares her story here:
A little about you:
My husband and I are registered nurses here in Australia. I am currently working at the Royal North Shore as a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse while my husband works at the Macquarie University Hospital as a Cardiac Cath Lab Nurse. We’ve got an 11yr old daughter who is smart, kind and lovely. She recently received the Academic Excellence Award last month as the school year ended. My life revolves around my family. On most days I love going for a walk at the park. During the cooler months my husband and I try to go for a bushwalk whenever possible. We also like to travel during the school holidays.
Where did you come from?
We’re from the Philippines. As most of the families there, I grew up mostly just with my mum as my dad is an overseas worker, seeing him only once or every other year. Just like my husband he grew up just with his older sister and older brother as their parents were working overseas as well. When we had our family, we had the same story. Nurses aren’t paid much back home so when our daughter was a year old, my husband had to leave the country to work as a nurse in Dubai and we only get to see him for a month every year.
When did you arrive in Australia?
I arrived in Australia together with a group of other Filipino nurses on September 2012 to do the bridging program for nurses in order to get my license registration to work here.
Why did you decide to come here?
Like most nurses in the Philippines, we initially planned on migrating to the USA, but since 2007, we were waiting for the processing and approval of our immigrant visa. It was hard for us to see our daughter growing up without her dad. Because of the long waiting period, I tried to complete the requirements for Australia as a friend told me that her sister lives here and it is a beautiful country to raise a family. I did my own research and started my application and challenging journey to Australia in August 2011.
What have been the biggest challenges for you in Australia?
To start with, the biggest challenge for me was the high score requirement for the English Test (IELTS) and of course financially it was too expensive for me and my family. We needed a huge amount of money just to cover the expenses. We had to pay back a $40,000 loan just to get here. It was also emotionally challenging knowing that I’m far away from my daughter and my husband was still working in Dubai. She was a fragile child and was left under the care of my mom. Then when they finally joined me here after a year, another challenge was raising a child without any relatives here. Thankfully, we initially home shared with friends which made it easier for us to both work full time as well.
What do you like most about living in Australia?
I fell in love with Australia the moment I came here. There are a lot of things to like about it. It is a beautiful country. Most people are nice, respectful and are well disciplined. We feel safe living here. Australia values family which is quite important for us that even if our US visa approval came through on November 2015, we made the decision to stay here. Our workplace even allows us to work on shifts that suit our family schedule which we really appreciate. We also like the anti-bullying and anti-racism campaigns as this is quite important in schools and at work. We love the healthcare benefits that we get here as we don’t have one back home. Good education is also accessible to everyone regardless of their financial status. These are just some of the reasons why we love this country.
What does it mean to you to become an Australian citizen?
For us, being an Australian citizen means having a good life and a better future. It is something to be proud of. It means having an equal right and opportunity as everybody else like being able to vote during election day. To be an Australian citizen means to have the duty to respect the laws, traditions and culture of this country and give our best to take part in contributing to the welfare of this society.
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