Sarah Onyango Obama (1922 – March 29, 2021) was a Kenyan educator and philanthropist. She was the third wife of Hussein Onyango Obama, the paternal grandfather of U.S. president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and helped raise his father,

Barack Obama Sr. Barack Hussein Obama Sr. (; born Baraka Obama, 18 June 1934 – 24 November 1982) was a Kenyan senior governmental economist and the father of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. He is a central figure of his son's memoir, ' ...

She was known by her short name as Sarah Obama and was sometimes referred to as Sarah Ogwel, Sarah Hussein Obama, or Sarah Anyango Obama. She lived in

Nyang'oma Kogelo Nyang'oma Kogelo, also known as Kogelo, is a village in Siaya County, Kenya. It is located near the equator, 60 kilometres (37 mi) west-northwest of Kisumu, the provincial capital of the former Nyanza province. The population of Nyangom ...

village, 48 km (30 miles) west of western Kenya's main city,

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...

, on the edge of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

Biography

As a young woman, Sarah Obama helped raise her stepson Barack Obama Sr. She was a firm believer in quality early education and regularly took him on her bicycle to primary school so that he could get the education she had been denied. She first met her step grandson, Barack Obama II, the future

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, during his visit to Kenya in 1988. Although she was not a blood relation, Barack Obama called her "Granny Sarah". In addition to mentioning her in his memoir ''

Dreams from My Father ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance'' (1995) is a memoir by Barack Obama that explores the events of his early years in Honolulu and Chicago until his entry into Harvard Law School in 1988. Obama originally published his mem ...

'', he spoke about her in his 2014 speech to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. Sarah, who spoke Luo and only a few words of English, communicated with President Obama through an interpreter. During the U.S. presidential campaign of 2008, she protested attempts to portray Obama as a foreigner to the United States or as a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, saying that while Obama's grandfather had been a Muslim, "In the world of today, children have different religions from their parents." See also thi
correction
At one point in her life, she worked as a cook for

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

missionaries, but Sarah Obama was "a strong believer of the Islamic faith", in her words. On July 4, 2008, she attended the United States Independence Day celebrations in Nairobi, hosted by

Michael Ranneberger Michael Edward Ranneberger (born 1949) is a former United States Ambassador to Kenya. Early life Ranneberger attended Archbishop Curley High School, a Roman Catholic private school in Baltimore, Maryland. After graduating, he obtained a B.A. ...

, the U.S. ambassador in Kenya.''Daily Nation,'' July 8, 2008
"Obama granny's day out with envoys and top politicians"
, ''Daily Nation'', July 8, 2008 The following year, she attended Barack Obama's first presidential inauguration. In 2010, she created the Mama Sarah Obama Foundation to provide food and education to orphans, even sheltering some of them in her home. On the occasion of the inaugural Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (November 19, 2014) at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, Sarah Obama received the Pioneer Award in Education honoring the work of her foundation. Upon her acceptance of the award, she explained, "Our vision is a world where children are nurtured and supported physically, educationally, and emotionally to thrive and succeed in life." On March 29, 2021 it was announced that Mama Sarah had died at the age of 99, in a hospital in

Western Kenya Western Province () was one of Kenya's seven administrative provinces outside Nairobi. It is inhabited mainly by the Luhya people. Quakerism is widely practised here. Kenya's second highest mountain, Mount Elgon is located in Bungoma Distr ...

, having suffered with an undisclosed illness a few days earlier. Following her death, Kenyan President

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta ( born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, he previously served as Prime Minister of Kenya, Deputy Pri ...

issued a statement praising her as strong, virtuous, and "an icon of family values".

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Sarah 1920s births 2021 deaths Year of birth uncertain 20th-century Kenyan educators 20th-century women educators Kenyan Muslims Kenyan philanthropists 20th-century Kenyan women Luo people Obama family People from Siaya County 20th-century women philanthropists Luo women