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Kogelo (Kenya) (AFP) – Former US President Barack Obama recounted fond memories of his family home in Kenya during a visit Monday to launch an ultramodern youth center run by his half -sister. [19659002] Obama is on his first trip to Kenya since he's been president in 2015, when he was unable to visit his ancestral home as his jet was too big to land in Kisumu City, at the time of his arrival. West, he recalled.
joy to be back with so many people who are my family and so many people who claim to be family, everyone is cousin! He joked with the laughter of the audience
After a visit to the house of his step-grandmother Sarah Obama in the village of Kogelo, where his father was born and buried, Obama recalled his first trip to Kenya from From Nairobi, he first took a "very slow train" and then a bus with "chickens on my knees and sweet potatoes sneaking into my side." Then he had to cram into a matatu – a minibus taxi – "even more crowded than the bus" before a long walk up to "Mama" Sarah's house.
He remembers catching a chicken for dinner, that he was "a little disgusted" with committing suicide, visiting his father's grave and bathing outside.
"And I looked up at the stars and … it gave me a sense of satisfaction that no five-star hotel could offer,"
– Boost the Kenya's youth –
Obama was speaking at the launch of the Sauti Kuu (Swahili for "Strong Voices") center set up by his half-sister Auma Obama.
He said that by returning to these memories, he "would could not be more proud of what my sister built. "
Auma stated that this state-of-the-art center would provide local youth with access to books, the Internet and sports activities. work ethic, civic education, environmental conservation and financial literacy.
The center includes an international standard size football field sponsored by the German Ministry of Education. development cooperation, a basketball court financed by the fon Giants of Africa and other facilities, including a library and a computer lab.
to realize how rich they are. I do not want my community to be beggar … Let's start by depending on ourselves, "said Auma.
million. Obama said the center would empower and educate young Kenyans so that they could hold their leaders accountable. He praised Kenya's "real progress" in recent years, noting that corruption, tribalism and difficult elections are challenges that remain.
Upon arriving in Kenya on Sunday, Obama invited President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who repaired the barriers after a deadly election season last year.
Obama is tied to his Kenyan family through his father Barack senior, a tobacco economist
He left Obama at the age of two and died in a car accident in Nairobi in 1982, at the age of 46.
Obama worked in the government of Jomo Kenyatta, who ruled Kenya until independence. his death 14 years later in 1978. [1 9659021] The two men did not get along well, Kenyatta – the father of current Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta – dismissing Obama and blacklading him for d & # 39; other government jobs, an ostracization that would contribute to fueling alcoholism.
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