Woldu was originally found in 1984 by a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) documentary crew led by Brian Stewart and Tony Burman.
[1] Her family had walked from their village in Tigray to Mek'ele in hopes of finding food or relief.
While at the aid center her father, Woldu Menameno, was told by the attending nuns that Birhan would likely die within the next fifteen minutes.
In 2005, Bob Geldof had the film played again, at the Live 8 concert in London, then introduced Woldu, who thanked the audience for their support, in her native tongue.
In 2010, Birhan, then a nurse, became engaged to Birhanu Meresa, whom she had met while the two attended an agricultural college in Ethiopia.