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First lady Melania Trump handed out teddy bears to babies and shared tea with her counterpart in Ghana on Tuesday as she embarked on the first leg of her five-day solo trip to the African continent.
Trump was greeted in the capital, Accra, by dancers, drummers and schoolchildren wearing typical attire and waving Ghanaian and American flags, and received a bouquet of flowers from an 8-year-old girl, according to pool reports.
She met the country’s first lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, and presented her with a silver Chippendale tray etched with an image of the White House.
She carried it in a leather case signed, “First Lady Melania Trump.”
In return, Trump received a kente cloth, a Ghanaian fabric distinguished by its multicolored strips of cotton or silk, and an artifact.
The two first ladies then spent about 30 minutes in the Jubilee House, Ghana’s presidential palace, for a private meeting and tea.
Earlier, they toured a baby clinic at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, where Trump handed out teddy bears and “Be Best”-themed blankets donated by the White House to a group of mothers and their babies in an outdoor seating area.
At one point, she stopped to pick up a chubby-cheeked baby and made faces at him.
Trump also watched as a 6-month-old boy was weighed during a routine wellness check.
“Healthy boy,” she said.
The first lady is expected to emphasize the health and education of children as part of her “Be Best” platform that she launched in May during her tour, which includes stops in Malawi, Kenya and Egypt.
Her son, Barron, did not accompany her on the trip.
