By BRIDGET COOK
WHEN the Dunscombe family tragically lost their beloved son and brother Jared last year, they wanted to ensure his work of helping those most in need continued.
That dream came true this week when the family enabled seven-year-old East Timorese boy Aze Da Cunha to visit Australia for urgent heart surgery – something that will save his life.
Jared, who was a member of the Rotary Club of Cranbourne, was killed in a road accident while taking part in a charity cycling event in 2013 at the age of 31.
He had once beaten the odds to live after he was hit by a car when he was seven years old and doctors said he would not survive.
He went on to live a quite remarkable life and dedicated much of his time to helping others from a young age with the Cranbourne Rotary Club and other organisations.
Following his death, his family wanted to ensure his legacy lived on so they set up The Jared Dunscombe Fund to raise money and continue his work helping others.
Jared’s sister Jonelle Colabufalo said their first goal as part of the fund was to raise $20,000 to bring a child to Australia from a developing country who requires a serious operation which is not accessible to them in their home country.
She said they managed to raise that money with their first two fundraising events and were able to bring Aze to Australia this week – arranged through Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) and sponsored by The Rotary Club of Cranbourne.
Aze and his father Ezequiel, who are staying with Jared’s parents John and Kathy for the duration of the visit, arrived in Australia on Saturday night.
Aze underwent his surgery at the Monash Medical Centre on Monday.
The procedure undertaken by surgeons was relatively routine in Australia, but not something that was available to him in his own country.
Ms Colabufalo said the surgery went well and thanked all those who made it possible to save Aze’s life.
“Aze had a PDA closure in his heart, where a blood vessel which should close after birth didn’t do so,” she said.
“His heart was quite enlarged, his growth was severely stunted because of it and he couldn’t physically exert himself very much.
“We have been told by the hospital that he will be a completely different little boy now the surgery has been done.
“Jared would have been so overwhelmed that he had contributed to saving this gorgeous little boy’s life.
“It’s really mixed emotions for us, as we are so thrilled we have been able to make this possible but at the same time we would have loved to have our Jared here to see this.”
Ms Colabufalo said despite not speaking any English, Aze and his father have told them how grateful they are through an interpreter.
“They said they were overwhelmed by the generosity and what we were doing for their family,” she said.
“They were also very sad for our loss, but have thanked us for our help.”
Ms Colabufalo said she wanted to say a special thanks to ROMAC and Monash Medical Centre for assisting them in making their dream come true.
To find out more about The Jared Dunscombe Fund or make a contribution to it visit www.jaredfund.org.au.
