Dropping In on Obama's Kenyan Grandmother-What it means to be an Obama in Africa.

[babylonsister]

Dropping In on Obama's Kenyan Grandmother-What it means to be an Obama in Africa.
By Andy Isaacson



Sarah Onyango Obama reading Kenyan press coverage of the U.S. campaign at her rural homestead in Kogelo.

KOGELO, Kenya—Last Sunday morning, while Barack Obama stumped in Colorado, his paternal grandmother, 86-year-old "Mama Sarah" Obama, stood before a microphone and a crowd of several hundred villagers on a plot of land in Kogelo. Beside her was Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, whose helicopter had descended unexpectedly onto her tin-roofed homestead moments earlier. Streams of excited villagers ran across the surrounding corn and cassava fields and from a soccer game at Senator Barack Obama Secondary School.

Odinga addressed the crowd and the Kenyan TV cameras that followed him in Luo, the local tongue: "Today we have gathered here to say hello to Mama Sarah. The boy from here, he's gone to compete. We are praying for him so that he succeeds. Are you happy with Obama?"

"We are happy!" the crowd responded.

"Are you happy with him?"

"We are!"

Though I may have been the only person for miles around who actually has a vote in the U.S. presidential election, the occasion seemed oddly like a campaign rally. In a sense, it was. For Prime Minister Odinga, who, like the Obamas, belongs to the Luo tribe, and whose loss in a tainted presidential election last December touched off devastating ethnic violence, the appearance with Sarah Obama was not only an expression of solidarity, but also unambiguous political groundwork for what he might one day claim as a direct channel to the White House. For Obama's grandmother, the arrival of the Kenyan prime minister was another indication of how the phenomenal rise of an Obama child has changed the lives of the other Obama family half a world away.


Sarah Onyango Obama in her living room in Kogelo, as her grandson's likeness stands in the corner.

At the beginning, I thought it was something that would be short-lived, but it's been getting bigger every day," Obama's uncle Said had told me earlier that day on the drive from the provincial city in Kisumu for what I expected would be a quiet interview with the family matriarch. "It will continue to be a major preoccupation—or maybe my employment." Said wasn't referring only to his changed daily routine, which now involves rising at 4 a.m. to track the latest U.S. campaign news on Anderson Cooper 360—"people will ask me to comment on a development, and I don't want to be caught unawares"—before a full workday as a technician for a spirits company, followed by night school for his business management degree. Said was also referring to what it has meant, and what it may mean for at least the next four years, to be an Obama in Kenya: the frequent visits from people asking for money or help getting a U.S. visa; the requests to help sponsor scholarships for study in the United States; and the random pale faces, African dignitaries, and international journalists that have been arriving at Mama Sarah's home on a daily basis for the last year, paying respects and seeking favors and quotes.

more...

http://www.slate.com/id/2203232/pagenum/all/#p2

[Phx_Dem]

1. It's sweet that she's getting all kinds of attention from African dignitaries.

I know she's really poor, but that's a very pretty spread she's got.

I Tivo'd a show on Direct TV last week called, "Senator Obama Goes to Africa." It was a documentary of his 2006 visit to Africa with Michelle. It's 2 hours long and I haven't finished watching it because I can't tear myself away from campaign coverage for 2 hours straight. So far it's really good, especially after reading his books.

[icnorth]

2. Thank you sister,

your candle serves us well.

[liberalmuse]

3. Really touching.

It looks like a lot of people, not only in America, but in Kenya and around the world have very high hopes for a President Obama.

[AuntPatsy]

4. I loved reading about his grandmother....I bet she is so proud...without her he

could never have been, we should thank her...

[OhioChick]

5. K&R

:kick:

[Gregorian]

6. This is the cultural depth Obama brings to an administration.

I believe this is far more important than it may even seem. I see this from both sides of a divide. And it is one reason why he is so strong in his ability to unify. And even more, there is a world of nearly forgotten people just waiting for victory.

And that is the real world. I find it hard to contain my emotion when I see this. Such good people. So patient. Waiting.

[shireen]

7. neat story

It's heart-warming to see the pride in his Kenyan relatives. I'm sure Mama Sarah will be an honored guest at his inauguration.

Barack and Michelle are probably aware of how this is impacting them, and must be concerned about intrusions by the press and opportunistic people looking to exploit their connections. I hope that they'll be OK and after this excitement is over, that they can lead their lives in peace.