Date of Birth: April 10, 1999
Date of Surgery: November 30, 2009
Date of Follow Up: October 1, 2010
History:
Tamaru is one of those children who will forever stay in the hearts of anyone who meets him. In 2006 his family moved from their village eighty five Kilometers from Lalibela due to a famine. But when conditions eased, 8 year old Tamaru refused to return with his mother and siblings. Even at this young age, this tiny and undaunted child, yearned for education which was not available in his village. After living on the street for a year, in December 2008 he was chosen by Anteneh who supervises a home for street children in Lailibella, which provides a safe place to live and three meals a day, to join his project. This noble project is sponsored by Sandi Petersen, from World Families Australia (WFA). Several months after moving into the home, Tamaru - an outstanding student and everyone's little brother - fell very ill. At one stage he was even too weak to walk without assistance. At the end of the school year ceremony he had to be carried onto the stage to receive his prize as the outstanding student of the year. Tamaru needed medical care immediately so that he would be strong enough to make the trip to Israel to have life saving heart surgery. Sandi found a sponsor for the surgery, but Tamaru still had a long road ahead of him before he would be stable enough to withstand the trip.
There were many dedicated supporters in Ethiopia and Australia involved in Tamaru’s recuperation, including Jacqui Gilmour from Hope for Children who asked Yarod Worde to care for Tamaru while he was being treated in Addis Ababa to prepare him for his surgery in Israel. In November 2009, Tamaru made the trip to Save a Child's Heart (SACH) in Israel for life-saving heart surgery. He arrived alone, since his mother was unable to accompany him. Luckily SACH volunteer Bruria Gal was on her way home from Kenya, she accompanied Tamaru on the plane, so that he was not alone.
Tamaru suffered from Rheumatic Heart Disease - a condition in which the heart valves are damaged by rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that begins with a strep throat. It can affect connective tissue throughout the body, but the heart problem can develop into a chronic debilitating state that necessitates surgery. Although rheumatic fever can strike people of all ages, it is most common in children between 5 and 15 years old.
On December 1st 2009 Tamaru had life saving surgery performed by Dr. Lior Sasson and his team. He recovered well considering the seriousness of his condition upon arrival to SACH. When he returned to the SACH children’s home, Tamaru resumed his role as big brother and official socialite. He was a friend to all the other children. He enjoyed doing crafts, watching TV and DVD's and he readily joined in all activities. Tamaru smiled so widely that he lit up the room. And he read his English books…and learned to speak English, say some words in Hebrew and count to ten in Chinese. And he began to grow. On January 6th 2010 Tamaru returned to Ethiopia accompanied by Sandi Peterson who came to Israel to take him home.
Follow up:
Age at follow up: 11 years old
At the beginning of October 2010, Save a Child's Heart (SACH) photographer, volunteer and board member, Sheila Shalhevet, together with her husband Yosi, fulfilled a long time dream of traveling to Ethiopia, stemming from Sheila’s long term connection with SACH and closeness to the children she has photographed over the years. She met up with Tamaru and relays her meeting with him, 8 months after his return to Ethiopia.
Current condition:
Now 11 and a half years old, just 10 months after his surgery, Tamaru is a different child. He is living in Addis Ababa so that he can attend a school there which answers to his intellectual needs. He is still living with Yared Worde, an inspirational 25-year-old man who in 1999 underwent surgery by SACH. Himself an orphan, he eagerly took in Tamaru to look after him during his studies in Addis Ababa, as well as another street child, also needing a roof over his head.
Reminiscing of his time with Save a Child's Heart, Tamaru told Sheila, “I love my little sister Briana from Romania. She is in my heart”. Briana was a child who Tamaru was particularly close with during his stay in Israel. He says how happy he is to be in his new home with his new family. But he also has strong ties with his mother and will see her at least once a year during school holidays.
Tamaru is growing well and has turned into a super energetic young boy. Due to his determination to receive a good education, Tamaru is working hard in school and is an excellent student. He is studying in grade 6 and enjoys reading, writing and improving his English. He wants to become a doctor one day or a school principal like Yared. However, he has recently discovered the wonder of football and for the first time in his life he is able to run around and enjoy playing the game like the rest of his friends. Acting like a typical youngster for the first time, he is drawn to the fun of watching TV and playing on the computer. But always the conscientious student and to ensure he keeps up with his studies, Tamaru has promised to write a letter to Sheila in English every week as well as to read one page of an English book every day. Thankfully Tamaru is putting on weight. At the height of his illness, Tamaru weighed just 17 kilos and during his stay in Israel he went up to 25 kilos. He has quite an appetite.