Susan Alberti, AC

Susan Alberti Medical Research Foundation (SAMRF),  Founder & Chairman

The epitome of compassion served in cash and kind, Susan Alberti Medical Research Foundation (SAMRF) creator is Australia’s beacon of benevolence. Deborah Joy Peter digs deep to unmask the silhouette behind the story.

慈悲又实际的象征，身为Susan Alberti 医学研究基金会
(SAMRF)的创始者-Susan Alberti是澳大利亚医学领域一盏明亮温暖的灯塔。

Although bred into humble beginnings, Bairnsdale welcomed a heroine 68 years ago when Dr. Susan Alberti was born in May of 1947 to a serenading policeman and homemaking draftswoman. The Victoria native was raised in scarcity, yet what she lacked in riches growing up, she has since made up for in humanity. During an era where females were typically deprived of a tertiary education, she made no excuses over securing success.

SELF WITH SACRIFICE
Today one of the country’s greatest altruistic forces, the Western Bulldogs Football Club vice president and highly-acclaimed philanthropist is known for the tens of millions she has helped raise in support of medical research surrounding juvenile diabetes through the ‘Walk for the Cure’ annual fundraiser she founded in 1994. Originating in Melbourne and Sydney, the movement has since expanded to other regions nationwide.

Meanwhile, a far-reaching entrepreneur who established the Dansu Group with her late husband about four decades prior, her no-nonsense administrative style and penchant for business made her one of the first women state-wide to foray into construction back in the day. The determined duo dedicated an entire marriage to cultivating an industrial and commercial development venture from the ground up.

“We didn’t have a lot. We just had enough to put on the table. I didn’t have anything extra like most kids had. I always had a part-time job. I was working around school, before school, weekends, and holidays.”

East meets west
Presently stationed at a physical office which once served as the family nest, she seeks solace in the memories that envelope her atmosphere as she labours on with love. The age-old tale begins with her meeting blue-eyed Italian stud, Angelo Alberti, at a Hawthorn Town Hall dance in 1963. The teenage trailsman had arrived in the land down under three years earlier with zero dollars in his pocket and no English tucked under his belt.

Still cupid struck and four years into their courtship, the pair sealed their union in matrimony, only to return to the grind shortly after, where 16-hour workdays followed. From a piggery to pool installations to manufacturing to building, the tenacious twosome was unstoppable in their quest to solidify their household with the promise of good returns and prosperous order. Yet, circumstance found a way to flip marital bliss on its toes.

Sticks on stones
Horror hit when a rod went through the builder’s left eye while boxing up some concrete, forcing him into a series of 12 surgeries to save the organ, which he ended up losing anyhow sometime later. The tragic turn of events led to a career change; the silver lining-Dansu Group came into existence. Then in 1969, came Danielle, the couple’s bundle of joy and only offspring. “She was an absolute delight; my best friend,” the reminiscent mother notes.

Life was content, at least until the kid was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 12. Major hurdles surfaced but the trio coped. Alberti juggled between the many hats she wore-wife, mother, businesswoman, and employer to 250 workers. Yet, fate remained harsh. Her husband passed following a 1996 hit-and-run. Half a decade later, her ailing daughter died in her arms while the two were on a medical emergency led plane ride from Los Angeles to Australia.

Sweat and tears
As the blanket-clad 32-year-old rested in peace beside her guardian, Alberti looked at her child and swore that her personal fight for a cure would never end. Instead of a kidney, the cause has since become the living embodiment of the bereaving woman’s unwavering passion for her loved one. The loss has solidified her over 30-year involvement with notable medical research institutes like St Vincent’s, Baker IDI, and Walter + Eliza Hall.

Additionally, former Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and current Victoria University Foundation chair has dedicated plenty of her personal time and resources to aiding the community with scholarships for migrant children. “My heart’s in the west of Melbourne. With a high incidence of diabetes and lack of education, resources, and infrastructure, there are many struggling families out there,” she tells Essenze.

TURNING THE PAGE
A diabetic patient herself-a frightening fact which she discovered during her recent cancer treatment-the football and gardening fiend has weathered many storms across a lifetime. The more she lost, the more she gave. Despite the winding road that has been her epic journey, today she is happily married to fellow philanthropist, engineer, and husband of 10 years, Colin North. “It doesn’t matter what, just do something,” Alberti urges.

这名已经迈入68岁的巾帼英雄，出生于1947年5月，双亲是警察与主妇的家庭组合，她在自食其力、勉强饱足的情况下长大成人。在那样的一个时代，女性普遍被剥夺接受高等教育-上大学的机会，但这一切没成为她的借口，仅是为以后成功事迹锦上添花。

自我与牺牲
今天，她成为这个国家伟大的无私力量。除了是“西部牛头犬橄榄球俱乐部”副会长与备受赞誉的慈善家，她透过成立于1994年的医学研究年度筹款晚会，至今筹获数以百万基金协助青少年糖尿病患者透过步行治愈。而在墨尔本和悉尼之外，这项运动已扩展到全国地区。

同时，这名慎密深远的企业家与已故丈夫在40年前建立了Dansu集团，硬朗直率的管理风格和业务喜好使她成为早期涉足建筑业的出色女性管理者之一，而与经营婚姻一样，他们也致力于开发工商业领域。

东与西邂逅
驻扎在那个也曾是温馨小窝的办公室，她沉浸在工作与爱情甜美记忆的氛围中。古老的故事始于1963年在霍索恩市政厅的舞会，她邂逅了蓝眼睛的意大利青年Angelo Alberti。这名青年当时身上毫无分文，甚至连英语沟通能力也欠缺。

在丘比特之箭撮合下,他们在爱情慢跑4年后终步入婚姻。从猪舍、池子安装、制造到建筑工人，两名顽强的青年男女寻求家庭平稳和良好的回报。然而，黑色暗影却朝着他们的婚姻生活席卷而至。

生活的重击
事故发生得毫无征兆，当在钢骨水泥中工作时，一只杆子穿过建筑工丈夫的左眼，而他为了挽救器官进行12次的手术。这悲剧的事件导致职业变化，也催生Dansu集团。1969年, 女儿Danielle诞生，这是Susan所有幸福喜悦的泉源。“她是一个绝对的快乐，我最好的朋友。”

生活重击再度袭来，女儿12岁时被诊断为1型糖尿病患者，成为这三口之家的梦魇。那时，她拥有多层身份：妻子、母亲，女性企业家和250名工人的雇主。然而，命运依旧百般作弄，她的丈夫在1996年一场肇事逃逸事故中去世。数年后，重病的女儿死在她的臂弯里，当她们从洛杉矶乘飞机到澳大利亚欲进行急救时刻。

“我们不富裕，吃喝也刚好足够。我不像大多数孩子们有额外的物质，我总是有兼职的工作，在上学前后，还有周末和节假日。”

汗水与眼泪
32岁的她在身边守护并凝视女儿的脸孔：发誓个人的医疗治愈抗争永远不会结束。她的坚定与热情意志也体现在对她所爱的人，逾30年参与贡献著名的医学研究机构像St Vincent’s, Baker IDI与Walter + Eliza Hall等。

此外，作为前青少年糖尿病研究基金会和目前维多利亚大学基金会主席，她奉献心力和资源协助筹募社区外来务工人员子女的奖学金。“我的心牵挂墨尔本西部,那里有许多贫困家庭，而糖尿病的高发病率与缺乏教育、资源和基础设施息息相关。”她告诉Essenze。

翻过这一页
除了糖尿病,她最近因身患癌症而展开另一轮治疗抗争,这些可怕的事实经历印证了她布满荆棘的人生，但她失去得越多，却奉献更多。尽管走在蜿蜒曲折的道路，今天她却拥有了10年的幸福婚姻-慈善家兼工程师的丈夫Colin North。“无论是什么，能做多少就去做。”