By George Olwenya, Kenya

Mama Sarah Obama has started her journey to the US to witness the swearing-in of her grandson Barack Obama as the 44th American President.

And she is not travelling empty-handed. As a grandmother, she is carrying special gifts for her grandson — a Luo traditional three-legged stool, a flywhisk and a shield, which are symbols of leadership. “I wanted to give him a spear too, but I have been told that due to security reasons, I will not be allowed to board a plane with it,” Mama Sarah told The Standard.

Mama Sarah was in a jubilant mood as she left Nyang’oma Kogelo village for Nairobi. There was a battery of foreign and local journalists to record the moment.

“The day I was waiting for has finally come… I cannot hide my joy,” she said, adding: “I am going to be Kenya’s ambassador during the occasion and I will live to the expectations.”

Mama Sarah will put up with relatives in Nairobi before departing to the US on Friday from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, only a day before the US President-elect kicks of his inaugural celebrations by taking the day-long journey to Washington DC.

Obama and his family will start their daylong journey with an event in Philadelphia before boarding the train and picking up Vice-President-elect Joe Biden and his family in Wilmington, Delaware. The group will then make a stop in Baltimore before making their way to Washington DC.

Mama Sarah Obama, the grandmother to US President-elect Barack Obama, arrives at Kisumu Airport on Sunday. She was to fly to Nairobi and then Washington DC to witness Obama’s inauguration on January 20. Mama Sarah Obama has started her journey to the US to witness the swearing-in of her grandson Barack Obama as the 44th American President.

Obama’s train trip evokes memories of US’s 16th President Abraham Lincoln who travelled the same route by train to get to Washington DC for his inauguration in 1861.

Lincoln left his home in Springfield for a 12-day journey to Washington DC and made 101 speeches during stopovers.

Among the relatives accompanying Mama Sarah are her son Said Obama and his wife Beatrice; Kogelo community spokesman Nicholas Rajula and his wife Nelly; Senator Obama Kogelo Secondary School BOG chairman Charles Ochome and the Principal Eunita Obiero, as well as Lynn Yaya, a sister to Prime minister Raila Odinga’s wife Ida.

Mama Sarah said she was delighted as the big day (inauguration) nears and her going to America to attend the occasion means a lot to Kenya.

“We are going to install him so that he can serve the world,” she said in Dholuo. “When he sees me he will be very happy because he will have seen his blood,” she said amid prolonged laughter.

“I know Barack will be very happy to see me. My presence will mean a lot to him,” she added.

She added she would have wished to carry a spear to give Obama but was told that it will not be allowed through the airport.

“Rajula tried to carry a spear to give Barack when he won the Senate seat but he was blocked at the airport,” she recalled.

After the inauguration, Mama Sarah said it would now be upon Obama to work hard and ensure he helped those suffering across the world.

In Kogelo, among those who bid her farewell included senior official of Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization in Siaya district, Mrs Patricia Apoli, and members of the Kogelo cultural committee who were putting final touches to a cultural festival that is set to start on January 16 at Kogelo Primary School to celebrate the installation of Obama as President of the United States.

The Mayor of Washington Mr Adrian Fenty estimates that up to five million people will attend the inauguration as it is the first time ever the US has an African-American president.

All hotels in Washington DC and surrounding suburbs were booked months ago, and tourists now have to make do with alternative accommodation with families willing to sub-let their houses.

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THE GIFTS Click Pics To Enlarge Three-Legged Stool Kom Nyaluo Flywhisk Orengo Spear (Tong) and Shield

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Reference: A Kenyan Transition to Power — Obama’s Relatives Find That ‘Change’ Is Their Watchword, Too — By Stephanie McCrummen — Washington Post Foreign Service. Sunday, January 18, 2009;
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By WALTER MENYA

Mama Sarah Obama, grandmother of American President-elect Barack Obama, was on Monday at the centre of World Aids Day activities in Kisumu where she flagged off an awareness marathon.

As soon as residents got wind that Mama Sarah was at the Jomo Kenyatta Grounds [Click To View Picture], a huge crowd converged.

A jovial Mama Sarah, who arrived in a two-car convoy escorted by female security personnel, waved cheerfully at the crowds. Her security detail had a torrid time trying to stop the excited crowd from shaking her hand.

‘Kogelo ber kata an be angima (DHOLUO for Kogelo is fine and am also doing well),’ she told the crowd.

She, however, sidestepped a question about her travel plans to the US for Mr Obama’s inauguration.

PICTURE: Ms Sarah Hussein Obama, grandmother of US President-elect Barack Obama, cuts a tape to officially open a children’s park during the World Aids Day marathon at Jomo Kenyatta sports ground in Kisumu on Monday. On her right is Ms Betty Okero, an Aids activist. World Aids Day celebrations were marked in various towns countrywide.

Earlier, the 86-year-old Mama Sarah, who slipped into Kisumu quietly on Sunday, had flagged off the World Aids Marathon at seven in the morning.

Organisers said that they had chosen Mama Sarah because of her high profile.

They also said the fact that President-elect Obama had undergone HIV counselling and testing in Kisumu on his 2006 trip was more reason to choose her.

‘There is a lot of interest in the Obama family,’ said Betty Okero of the Civil Society Network, one of the organisers.

‘If her presence here today will help reduce new infections and give hope, we welcome that,’ said Ms Okero.

Ms Alie Eleveld of Safe Water and Aids Project said Mr Obama’s involvement with the World Aids Marathon was the main reason for choosing Mama Sarah to flag it off.

‘Barack Obama has been a great supporter of the World Aids Marathon, so we thought it would be a good gesture to invite his granny,’ said Ms Eleveld.

Speaking to the Nation after the function, Mama Sarah said that she was happy to be part of the event.

‘I feel greatly privileged to be invited because my grandson is very concerned about the ravages of HIV,’ she said.

Pictures of President-elect Obama taken at the VCT clinic during his 2006 visit are extensively being used to drive the campaign against HIV and Aids.

Staff at the clinic began distributing the posters in the run-up to the US election.

On election night, the VCT clinic set up a temporary facility at the Kogelo dispensary where villagers kept up with events in the US on a giant TV screen.

A Liverpool VCT clinic official said the events were geared towards reducing HIV infections in Nyanza Province.

The province leads in HIV prevalence rates in the country at 15 per cent, double the national rate of 7.4 per cent, according to the latest Kenya Aids Index Survey by the National Aids/STI Control Programme.

The survey further found that 1.4 million adults in Kenya are living with the virus with Nyanza contributing the highest percentage.

‘She is very supportive because she knows HIV and Aids is a killer. She believes in prevention and giving hope to those who are living with the virus,’ said Ms Okero of Mama Sarah.