Zaldy Bolneo grew up in Himamaylan, a rural area in southern Negros Occidental. He is the second youngest among seven siblings. Growing up in a large family from the province, early life was hard and devoid of comforts.
The impoverished condition that surrounded him ignited the survival instinct in Zaldy. As he grew older, he became resilient, disciplined, and highly ambitious. At an early age, he contributed to the household income by helping in the tailoring business of his family.
Zaldy’s diligence paid off. He graduated at the top of his class in high school and earned a college scholarship. With encouragement from his family, he moved to Bacolod City and enrolled at West Negros College for a bachelor’s degree in Accounting.
With no financial support from his family, and a few scrappy jobs here and there, Zaldy knew that the only way to finish his studies was to earn high grades to maintain his scholarship. After years of hard work, he completed his Accounting degree as Cum Laude. This academic achievement, along with the professional network he managed to build in school, secured him a job spot at the Metrobank in Bacolod City.
Endlessly ambitious, Zaldy left Metrobank after six years to start a new job as Chief Accountant at West Negros College. Two years later, he was appointed Financial Controller of the school.
“While the job was very challenging, everything seemed to have gone smoothly,” Zaldy told the NEGROS WEEKLY as he looked back to the early days of his career. It was also at this stage of his profession when he met the love of his life, his wife, Grace.
“They say behind every great man is an even greater woman, and with Grace’s love and support, together, we were able to build a beautiful life, and had three charming daughters,” Zaldy said.
“Life was good, everything seemed to have fallen into place. The harsh conditions from my early life seemed to be a distant memory,” he added.
Never one to be content with being complacent, Zaldy started researching for possible opportunities outside the country. Concerns about the growing economic instability in the Philippines during the late 80s motivated him to migrate to another country where his family can have a better future.
His choices were narrowed down to two countries – America and Australia. He chose to bring his family to Australia.
Aware that he needed to, once again, start at the bottom, Zaldy was determined to succeed. While having young children was an added pressure, he said they are his source of inspiration and motivation.
After a few weeks of settling into life in Australia, Zaldy pursued a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy at the Queensland University of Technology. He was a part-time student at night and a full-time accounting assistant during the day.
After a fruitful career spanning nearly 20 years as an accountant, Zaldy spent the last few years of his accounting career as Chief Financial Officer at a non-profit government organization, the Family Planning Queensland.
Spurred by his own journey of coming to Australia, and the belief that countless others out there hold a similar dream, Zaldy decided to explore the world of immigration and help Filipinos in Australia bring their family to a country where they can have a better future.
By 2008, Zaldy received his Graduate Certificate in Australian Immigration Law & Practice, at the Australian National University.
“It is such a nice feeling to make my fellow Filipinos aware of what is outside the Philippines, particularly Australia. Australia is a country that offers a lot of opportunities, safety, health security, and the most ideal life balance,” he said.
Since starting out as a sole trader in 2009, assisting only a small number of clients, Zaldy has grown Future in Australia Migration into a company that serves clients from all around the world.
In the last 12 years, he helped hundreds of clients and happily witnessed them going from dreaming for a better life, to living out their Australian dreams. | NWI
