Mama Sarah

Last weekend we had the opportunity to visit the village and home of Barack Obama's father and family in Western Kenya. It was a pretty amazing experience to say the least. The village is Kogelo, near Kisumu in West Kenya. We were able to walk up onto the grounds where his grandmother lives, Mama Sarah, and we were then greeted by her and the President's Aunt.
The homestead is humble, with a small home, a few cows, a latrine, and a field growing what appeared to be corn. We were greeted by an unfriendly Kenyan police officer at the gate who eventually allowed us entrance into the compound after showing our passports.
We were told about the story of the family. Apparently, the president's father was married with 2 children when he left for Hawaii. There, he met the President's mother and Barack was made. The president's maternal grandfather, according to the Kenyan side of the family, would not allow a marriage to occur, and Barack senior left for Harvard requesting that the child be named after him. At Harvard he met another Mzungu (white) woman and ended up marrying her and bringing her back to Kenya. They had several children and she apparently lives in Nairobi now. Barack Senior has since passed away, but his grave site is located next to Mama Sarah's home. His home is the plot next door, where his second wife took up residence after his death for a short while.

Mama Sarah is actually the President's step grandmother. In the Luo district of Kenya, polygamy is quite common practice as we have witnessed over and over again. Barack senior's mother left when he was a child and his father's second wife, Mama Sarah, then raised him as her own. This is the President's grandmother. This is who he visits when he comes to Kenya and where he stays while he is here. Mama Sarah is a wonderful woman who greeted us so humbly. She welcomed us and called us by our Luo names. She allowed us to take pictures and answered our many many questions.
Overall, I would say that meeting Mama Sarah was a moment I will never forget. Listening to her pride for her grandsone and Kenya's pride for "their brother" is quite amazing. It is intriguing how one person can change the perspective of a nation that was undergoing such turmoil following their recent election in 2007. Yes, he is America's president, but if you ask anyone here, they say "He is Kenya's President, the World's president". I don't want to get into a political discussion or pretend to know much about politics, but all I have to say was that was a pretty amazing experience...Thank you mama Sarah.