Mama Obama

Hi, it is Blair here, Gavin's Dad.
Yesterday was an exciting day for us. We had been anxiously waiting to visit Barack Obama's grandmother. She lives about half and hour from where we are currently staying at Bondo University, near a tiny town called Kogelo. Her small quaint house is situated in a very rural setting with lots of cows, chickens, goats, rabbits and turkeys running around. Things might change soon though, since they are now about 3/4 way finished a new highway to her house from the main road, and plans are underway to build a museum. President Obama's father grew up here and is buried on the property, and so is his grandfather, who died at age 105! When talking to Mama Sara Obama, she told us that Obama's father had been a good boy and a good students, and she pointed to a distant hill and told us that he had walked 7 miles to school each day. She also told us that when President Obama first visited when he was 25, he had spent half an hour silently touching his father's grave.
You have to have an appointment to visit Mama Obama, and security is very tight. No photos are allowed without permission, and you can not put pictures of Mama on any web site (but we will show our friends later.) The visit, however was quite informal, we chatted to her through the interpreter, sitting on plastic chairs under a tree. I spoke first, telling her of my keen interest and great respect that I have for President Obama. Then Gail spoke about more personal matters about her being a mother and care giver. Mama Obama has been taking in orphans for many years, in fact she has been a 'grandmother' to countless children that have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, magistrates, teachers etc. Her children's foundation is doing great work on farming and other agricultural sustainable projects. We told her about our work at the Ligusa community Center and showed her pictures; it seemed like we had more of a connection with her than your average American tourist. Gail then told her a story - The Lion's Whisker - about the love of a step mother for her child. Mama Obama really enjoyed it and we have promised to send her a copy of the picture book when we return. When we were finished, we had our photo taken with Mama Obama. It was a great experience and yet another example of an old woman doing so much good for children and widows. Very humbling!