Former US President Barack Obama has mourned his grandmother Sarah Obama in a heartwarming condolence message.
Obama described Mama Sarah as she was commonly known in glowing terms recalling her emotional encounter with her when he came to Kenya searching for his roots.
She lived to witness many historical events, to fly on jets, receive visitors from around the world, and see one of her grandsons get elected to the United States presidency.
“And yet her essential spirit—strong, proud, hard-working, unimpressed with conventional marks of status and full of common sense and good humor—never changed,” Obama said.
He described the great role Mama Sarah played to ensure that his father got education and eventually a scholarship to the US leading to Obama’s birth.
Obama said his granny’s presence was a stabilising force when their family had dificulties.
“My family and I are mourning the loss of our beloved grandmother, Sarah Ogwel Onyango Obama, affectionately known to many as “Mama Sarah” but known to us as “Dani” or Granny.” he wrote.
Obama said Mama Sarah overcame many challenges including being married off to an older man as a teenager.
He said despite all the odds Mama Sarah was able to bring up her 8 children due to her handwork.
“When I first traveled to Kenya to learn more about my heritage and father, who had passed away by then, it was Granny who served as a bridge to the past, and it was her stories that helped fill a void in my heart”, Obama wrote.
He said they will miss her dearly, but celebrate with gratitude her long and remarkable life.
