Heartbreaking sacrifices pay off for Edenhope’s newest Australian citizens

The event closed a chapter on years of hard work and heartbreaking sacrifice. 

Darwin and Laurence De Luna; Aidan, Alvin and Chloe Velasco; and Christian, Lady Anne and Paulo Vidal individually accepted certificates and gifts from West Wimmera Shire Council Mayor Tim Meyer. 

“We’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Christian Vidal said. “The way we’ve struggled, to where we are now, we are very happy.” 

Gathered for a photo, the smiles on Christian, wife Lady Anne and six-year-old son Paulo, betray little of their journey to citizenship. Paulo was just three-months old when Lady Anne travelled alone, from ‘Angeles City’ in the Philippines to Sydney, to study nursing. The couple planned to set themselves up in Australia before bringing their baby over. 

Then COVID-19 hit. It took two heart-breaking years for Christian to secure a special flight, on compassionate grounds, to return for his child. 

He hoped to spend “a few days” bringing the precious cargo back to Australia, but again COVID-19 thwarted plans; it was another gruelling four months before Lady Anne was reunited with Paulo, now three-years-old. 

“It was a very hard time, we were very helpless,” Christian said. 

By then, the Vidal family owned a house in Edenhope and were settled into jobs at the hospital and care facility. The isolated farming town was a shocking contrast to their bustling home-city, famous for its shopping and night-life. 

“I’ll be honest, we didn’t like Edenhope in the beginning,” Christian said. “We decided to stay for two years, to be fair to the hospital, because they’d been so good to us.” 

Five years on, the family-of-three can’t imagine living anywhere else. 

“We love our work and the people, and we love the peaceful country life,” Christian said. “Now we are encouraging and recruiting more people to come because it’s really the best life here.” 

His efforts are working. In total, Grampians Health Edenhope employs 17 Filipino staff, with two more due to start in the coming weeks. 

“We are delighted and grateful to this cohort of staff, for making Australia and Grampians Health their home,” Grampians Health Chief People Officer Claire Woods said. 

“Highly professional migrants are essential to our service provision and we are proud that our Edenhope campus has a strong reputation in the Philippines. There are so many flow-on effects for rural schools, businesses, sporting groups and the like; I’m sure the whole community is celebrating our newest Australian citizens.” 

Christian never dreamed he'd end up in a rural farming town, but now he promotes Edenhope to anyone who'll listen. 

“It’s hard (to pitch) because we’re very far from the city, but I tell them about the nice balance with workload and family time,” he said. 

“You don’t get that in the city; you’re just a number in the city. The hospital is very flexible and understanding, that’s mainly why we stayed.” 

Christian’s next goal, armed with his new Australian passport, is to visit siblings in America. 

“I have been denied a visa to the USA four times, but now I will be able to see my brother and sister,” he said. 

“We haven’t been together as a family, all five of us, for more than 15 years.” 

Grampians Health congratulates all six employees, for achieving their citizenship and for their dedicated service to their organisation and community.