Meet Aurora: ATQLD’s Admin trainee!

Meet Aurora: ATQLD’s Admin trainee!

Aurora is currently doing her placement as Business Administration trainee at IntegreatQLD. Although she enjoys her time at Integreat, she confesses that she still has some reservations about answering the phone due to the language differences she has encountered from most Australians. Nonetheless, she remains committed to learning and assimilating into the Australian culture. She is delighted to be a part of IntegreatQLD and to contribute to our multicultural community.

She is originally from the Philippines, where she was a store manager at Guess store for 14 years. Aurora resigned from her job when she became pregnant with her youngest child. Together with her husband – an OFW who was often far from home – they started a business catering to pets and animals. They also owned a truck business for hire.

In 2019, Aurora and her family received approval for their PR (Permanent Residency) in Australia. They came to the country for the first time in May 2019, just for three weeks, to put the first entry in their passport. In December 2023, Aurora and her two children, aged 12 and 18, moved to Gladstone, to start a new life with her husband who had been living in Australia since 2011.

The most surprising thing for Aurora since moving to Australia is the people’s friendliness and the cleanliness of the place and surroundings.
In her free time, Aurora loves to cook for her family, watch movies, and go on walks with her daughter in the shopping malls. For her son, they enjoy walking and jogging at the park in the late afternoon.

Aurora’s family has had a positive experience since moving to Australia. Her youngest child was accepted into Gladstone State High School as a Year 7 student, while her eldest child found out that she could still pursue her chosen career in Forensic Science.

Congratulations to Aurora and her daughter for recently passing their driving test and getting their driver’s licenses, which they consider a great achievement to start a new life in Australia!

We look forward to working with Aurora in the next few weeks and hoping to share our diverse culture here at IntegreatQLD.

Thank you, Apprentices and Trainees Queensland (ATQLD) for providing opportunities for people wanting to enter the workforce or upskill through Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative.

Kristy Recommends Malva Pudding dessert

Photo from ImmaculateBites, africanbites.com

Malva pudding is a South African sweet pudding made with apricot jam and has a spongy caramelised texture. It is served warm with cold custard and/or ice-cream, and a cream sauce is poured over it while hot.

Course dessert:
Cuisine South African
Servings 10 people
Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 35 min

Ingredients for the Pudding:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 large egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons smooth apricot jam
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 3/4 cups milk

For the Sauce:

• 2 cups boiling wate
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 10 ml vanilla essence
• 2 tin (380 gr) evaporated milk

Instructions For the Pudding:

1. Sieve the flour, baking powder, brown sugar and salt into a medium mixing bowl.
2. Add the eggs, baking soda, jam, butter and milk.
3. Mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are incorporated. Transfer batter into a baking
   dish.
4. Bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. The pudding will be baked brown and
   when tested, the knife will come out clear.

For the Sauce:

1. While the pudding is in the oven, prepare the sauce by combining the water, sugar,
   vanilla and evaporated milk in a microwavable bowl.
2. Microwave these ingredients until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Pour the hot sauce over the pudding little by little. You will see that the sponge will
   just suck up that sauce, so keep on adding a little sauce at a time.
4. This can take several minutes for the sponge to absorb all the sauce; it helps if you
   poke a few holes in the pudding with a knife to ensure more sauce is being absorbed
   in all the good places.
5. Serve hot with custard or vanilla ice cream.
   Recipe Notes

If you prefer a less drenchy pudding, I recommend you halve the sauce ingredients.
You will still enjoy a sticky and sweet pudding, just more firm.

If you are interested to share your recipe to the community, please email contactus@integreatqld.org.au

A fun trip to Egypt through Culture Cafe!

A large crowd gathered at the Gladstone Regional Libraries last week to learn about Egypt.

Dalia gave us all a wonderful glimpse of Egyptian culture through the lens of food, feasting, and fasting. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm), prayer (salah), reflection, and community.

We learned of the wonderful sense of community around breaking the fast of Ramadan, where people from all levels of society gather to share food regardless of their religion, status or background.
Dalia says ‘If we are sad, if we are happy, if we are planning to travel, if we go to an event, It’s all about food. This traces back to Ancient Egypt”

Food links through the history of Egypt and some of the phrases common to the country can seem odd but still make sense and prove how universal some understandings are.
الطريق لقلب جوزك معدته
The way to your husband’s heart is his stomach
اللي اتلسع من الشوربة ينفخ في الزبادي
Those who get hurt from hot soup will blow on cold yoghurt in order not to get hurt again.

If you would like to share things like this about your own culture and do a presentation, we would love to hear from you!

Our next Culture Café in Gladstone is Wednesday June 5th. Start the conversation with us by emailing Stel (stel@integreatqld.org.au)

Our Culture Cafe is made possible with funding from Australia Post, and in partnership with the Gladstone Regional Libraries and Friends of Library.

Rockhampton Programs Ready for Term 2

Mirjam and Joyce are getting excited in Rockhampton as they prepare for the return of our programs that enrich our community: Little Steps Playgroup, the Women’s Journey Program and Women’s Circle.

The Little Steps Playgroup will resume its fun-filled sessions starting from April 15th. It’s time for our little ones to play with their friends, explore new activities, and have fun and exciting adventures together. We can’t wait to see their smiles light up the playroom once again!

For our incredible women looking to embark on a journey of personal and professional growth, mark your calendars for April 26th as the Women’s Journey Program kicks off once more. Whether you’re seeking mentorship, skills development, or simply a supportive community to thrive in, this program is designed to empower and inspire you every step of the way.

For those women who may be seeking something less formal, but still empowering and focused on companionship, Women’s Circle also begins again 17th April, running fortnightly on Wednesdays.

We’re delighted to share that enrolments for all programs are off to a fantastic start. The overwhelming response from our community reaffirms the value and impact of these initiatives. If you haven’t secured your spot yet, now’s the perfect time to join us on these exciting journeys ahead.

Stay tuned for more updates and details on how you can get involved. Let’s make the upcoming season of the Women’s Journey, Little Steps Playgroup, the Women’s Circle program truly unforgettable!

You can visit our event’s page for more details 

New Training Room Filled with Laughter

New Training Room Filled with Laughter

Last week, an enthusiastic Individual Support class were the first to use our new training room in our new premises!

These students are learning how to best support those in our community who require assistance, support and understanding. This is vital and important to many so they can continue to participate in enriching activities regardless of any barriers they may have.

Brenda Spedding, from Simple Solutions, is our wonderful trainer. She finds the perfect balance between professionalism and humour. Her vast experience in this field and ability to communicate what she’s learned is a great asset to our students.

Laughter has long been proven to aid in learning and we are sure they are learning extremely well with the laughter we’ve heard from the room.

We are happy to support these students as they work towards obtaining their qualifications.

Skilling Queenslanders for Work is funded by the Queensland Government.

Micro Food Business Ignites Big Dreams

Micro Food Business Ignites Big Dreams

Our successful Micro Food Business training is running again in 2024, and we have a place for you!

The 2023 graduates of our training have pursued their dreams with determination and now hold various positions within the community, utilising the knowledge they gained to their advantage.

Through this training you will learn the importance of food safety, best business practices and how to make your unique ideas stand out.

If you have a passion for food and want to pursue creating a business, we encourage you to be ambitious! Classes have commenced however, it is still possible to participate if you are interested.

Micro Food Business Training is proudly supported by Gladstone Regional Council’s Elevator Fund.

Contact us to Register your interest: contactus@integreatqld.org.au or 4903 1931