Birhan Woldu (born 1981) is an Ethiopian woman who, as a child during the 1983-1985 Ethiopian famine, appeared in video footage taken while she was starving and close to death. The footage was broadcast at

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

in 1985. Woldu was originally filmed in 1984 by a

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

(CBC) documentary crew led by Brian Stewart and

Tony Burman Tony Burman (born 13 June 1948) is a Canadian broadcaster, journalist and university official. Starting in the 1960s, Burman has worked as a journalist in print, radio, television, and online. For most of his 35-year career, he worked at the Ca ...

. Her family had walked from their village in

Tigray The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

Mek'ele Mekelle (), or Mek'ele, is a List of zones of Ethiopia, special zone and capital city, capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta province, Enderta Awrajja, awraja in Tigray Province, Tigray. It is locate ...

in hopes of finding food or relief. Her sister Azmara died during the trip, and she and her mother both became very ill. While at the aid center her father, Woldu Menameno, was told by the attending nuns that Birhan was likely to die within the next 15 minutes. He wrapped her in a white burial shroud and began to dig a grave. However, as he began to bury his daughter, he noticed a faint pulse. He alerted the nurses, who eventually restored her to health. She subsequently became a symbol of the 19841985 Ethiopian famine and a trigger for the global famine relief effort. In 2004, an adult Woldu appeared in Band Aid 20's

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

". In 2005,

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

had the film played again at the

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 2005 ...

concert in London, then introduced Woldu, who thanked the audience for their support in her native tongue. She remained on stage for the first part of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's performance of " Like a Prayer". In 2010, Birhan, by then working as a nurse, became engaged to Birhanu Meresa, whom she had met while the two attended an agricultural college in Ethiopia. (accessed 23 May 2010).

References

External links

Indepth: Ethiopia - Strange Destiny
CBC website
Original TV report
that inspired the aid projects around the world (1 November 1984) 1981 births Ethiopian nurses Live 8 Living people {{Ethiopia-bio-stub