Alba Valeria Chliakhtine
“I wanted to pursue a different career after retiring, one that would allow me to contribute to a lasting Legacy”
Alba Valeria Chliakhtine
Country of Origin : Brazil
Occupation: Supply Chain Professional. (Retired)
State of Residency: Victoria
Favourite place in Australia: Melbourne
Upon arrival: Surprised by the amount of people living here, not many
Edited by Cristina Abela, socials by Juan Camilo.
Alba is one of the founding members of the Brazilian Association in Australia, which has been around for 20 years and supports many new arrivals with information and cultural activities throughout the year. In 2010 she joined Multicultural Women Victoria where she became a chair 5 years ago as she loves the community and capacity building work they do. Alba is currently a volunteer community advocate, who serves a range of Board and Multicultural organisations best known as the Executive Officer of the Brazilian Association in Victoria, The Chair of Multicultural Women Victoria and the Treasurer of Ross House Association.
TELL US YOUR STORY
I was born in country town in Minas Gerais Brazil. A place I am extremely proud off, as it gave me the best possible community grounding a person can wish for. I came to Australian in 1988 and have always lived in Melbourne. In 2010 I brought to Melbourne my two adopted children who came to live with me from Brazil.
I feel my migration journey was relatively easy compared to many others. I was about to leave Brazil to study in Denmark and was persuaded by my now husband to come to Australia. He said, I am sure you will enjoy the place and it is a great country with many professional possibilities. I arrived in January 1988 in a hot spell. My husband was also from family of migrants who had settled here 10 years before. I decided to stay, got married, and within 4 weeks I was allowed to look for work and my permanent visa was issued within 6 months. I still remember looking for work and was very lucky I encountered a manager who could see my experience despite my heavy accent (his name was Jamie Barnes, and I am very grateful he offered me a position as shipping officer).
I decided to go back to school and selected a supply chain course at RMIT. They were launching a new course in business Graduate Diploma in Procurement Management and Supply. This was a big turn around for me. This added with my experience in Brazil landed me a job at Ford Motor Company. From there my career took off. I built a name in the industry as a professional and never looked back. Working for blue chip companies such as Qantas Airways Limited, Visy Industries, Metro Trains and finally retiring with Procurement Directorship role in Government, exiting the private industry in 2017.
In parallel to my professional career, in 2002 I came across the opportunity to volunteer. I felt I needed to contribute to society. That was when I helped to create the Brazilian Association in Victoria. I also answered this call as I wanted to have another career after my retirement. A career where I could be part of legacies. Since then, I have expanded my horizons in volunteering and really enjoy the warms of the connection we make in eery organisation I support. There is something special about the feeling you bring inside when you work on a cause that does not have a material gain. I have won two awards for my volunteer work:
2022 - City of Monash – Sir John Monash Multicultural Champion – High Commendation
2021- City of Port Phillip – Nominated Women who have shaped and changed the City of Port Phillip
I am fortunate to say that all I have achieved, happened because of the support I had of many throughout life. Starting with the grounding that my parents and their friends in my small town in Brazil gave me. The friends I made along the way as a teenager, at my work in Brazil and here in Australia. And more important, my own family – the one I created here in Australia with the unconditional support of my husband. Who supported me in my settlement process, helped me to grow in my professional area and in my desire to be a community advocate. I am also proud of my children who gave me the opportunity to experience life as a mum.
Since 208 I have been supporting several Boards and multicultural committees such as The Ross House Association (currently its treasurer), Permanent Care and Adoption Families (PCA), City of Port Phillip Multicultural Advisory Committee (member and Chair of the Welcoming Cities Sub-Committee). I also participate in other CALD initiatives such as Embrace (Multicultural Mental Health), Ethnic Community Council of Victoria (ECCV) – Seniors group) and the Multicultural Women’s Reference Group (Home Affairs). I am passionate about diversity in many different forms and have made multiculturalism and supporting cultural transition my key topic of interest.
CHALLENGES
The first job - Connecting with the first professional job is a key challenge for many of us. I had 10 years’ experience in supply chain when I arrive. It took me two years until I could transition to the same level I had in Brazil. But I have to recognise that some of the barries were mine (e.g. initial lack of confidence).
Discovering the local community - The community support infrastructure we had was not as extensive as today. If there was community support in my neighbourhood it was not well known. Today Council’s have plenty of welcoming support activities. However, not many people know about it as this is also not present where they come from.
Cost of a phone call - Technology was quite limited. I still remember that at phone call to Brazil was $2.10 per minute! Today is totally free via the internet and we have the bonus of seeing people through video calls. I still remember dreaming about this possibility and I’m happy to be alive to experience it.
CONTRASTS AND SIMMILARITIES
Population size - The number of people in the streets was a big shock to me! I used to see so many people in the suburbs and here it was so empty. During nighttime, in particular, not a single soul!!! This used to disturb me, because in Brazil this is not common unless it was passed midnight.
Diversity - Coming to Australia gave me the opportunity to meet and interact so many different cultures. Initially all my friends and sometime their parents had come from abroad. Different stories to tell, some leaving Europe after the war, others leaving dictatorship in Latin American countries. The fact is, in Brazil these stories also existed but were not commonly told. Example: The Lebanese immigration to Brazil was massive, but we did not talk about it. Whereas here, we have the opportunity to hear from First Generations Australia’s journey and/or the journey of their parents. And this is great!
Free cultural activities - Amazingly surprised on how we could have so many free types of activities to go to. Events at the end of the year (Classic music on the parks), fantastic use of the park as places for entertainment. On the other hand, finding quite odd that a restaurant would close at 9:00 PM when in Brazil, this is the time we go out to eat. Only finding good coffee in Lygon street during the 80’s was a contrast compared to good coffee everywhere in Brazil.
Food price -The price we had to pay for tropical fruits and ethnic food was a shock! Paying $5.00 for a mango when in my hometown we had them for free! Access to ethnic ingredients was difficult due to the costs. Fresh fruit juice!! How could people survive without it? I was so static when in the 90’s Daily Fresh Juice (I still remember the company name) came with fresh orange juice for the supermarkets! Today, there is hardly a fresh fruit juice I cannot find here in Australia.
PIECE OF ADVICE
Embrace diveristy - Connect with the diverse population we have at every level. Learn English so you can communicate at every level! To me it is a key ingredient to success in the workforce and that will give success in other areas. But more important, this is our language! Observe the key aspects of the country, Australia is now a very diverse country with more than 50% of its population being born oversees. Become familiar with the First Nations history and tune in to what is happening in the country. Participate in the civil life so you better understand how the country works. But also, be proud of the culture you were born into. It is what makes you, it is your DNA and it is also what grounds you.
We are part of Australia’s history - During my 30 years in Australia, I have seen many stories of pioneers who came and conquer. There is always an opportunity for any migrant to conquer as well. I was born in Brazil, but I do call Australia home because of all opportunities offered to me. I built a professional career, settled my immediate and extended family here. In summary: To me, success comes when you embrace the culture and accept the diversity we have. When one appreciates that we are building a new nation and understand that we are part, and we are building the history in this country.
Connect and volunteer - Go on and connect and volunteer! There are so many causes here one can volunteer for, make great friendships, and feel inner peace. There is nothing more rewarding than feel that as a volunteer you are part of someone’s success settlement. Most of us who came here have a lived experience in a topic. There are many resources that can support.
IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS…
Alba sees herself learning further about diversity as she loves how each day she meets a multicultural group at MWV she learns a different story. She would like to continue with the idea of supporting the needs of multicultural women and supporting them to in capacity building in any area they wish to work on or learn. One area she has become interested in is the life beyond retirement and building connections so we can become active older Australians and lead an active, happy, and dignified life. Whether one is just arriving in the country or have exited the workforce, people are very dependant on connections and in particular our cohort of first-generation Australians.
If you want to connect with Alba you can find her here:
Instagram and Facebook> ABRISA , LinkedIN > Alba V. Chliakhtine
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With love and gratitude - Latin Stories Australia team