This is Nairobi, Kenya. It was confirmed on Monday that Sarah Obama, the step-grandmother of former President Barack Obama, has passed away at the age of 99 or more. The announcement was made by the family and officials. She was a significant character in Kenya, and she was affectionately referred to as Mama Sarah. She devoted her entire life to advancing education in the neighbourhood of Kogelo, which is located in the countryside.
Marsat Onyango, Mama Sarah’s daughter, reported that her mother passed away at four in the morning local time at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu. She was undergoing treatment at the time of her passing. Despite the fact that she had been admitted to the hospital a week earlier after becoming ill, the family’s spokesperson, Sheikh Musa Ismail, made it clear that she did not succumb to COVID-19 because she had tested negative for the virus.
President Barack Obama sent his condolences to Mama Sarah’s family and described her as a “wonderful grandmother” in a tweet. The post also included a picture of a young Obama with his grandmother. He expressed his respect for her long and amazing life by saying, “We will miss her dearly but celebrate with appreciation her long and extraordinary life.”
The burial of Mama Sarah according to Islamic law is set to take place on Tuesday morning, and Kenyan politicians will be present to celebrate her legacy. Her death was a loss for the nation, according to President Uhuru Kenyatta, who praised her as a “strong, virtuous mother” and an emblem of family values. He declared that her passing was a tragedy for the country.
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. We will miss her dearly, but we’ll celebrate with gratitude her long and remarkable life. pic.twitter.com/avDY4f1PVu
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 29, 2021
Anyang Nyong’o, the Governor of Kisumu, have expressed their condolences to the Kogelo community. They have also acknowledged Mama Sarah’s position as a matriarch and praised her efforts to empower orphans through education. Through her work in the humanitarian sector, Mama Sarah had committed herself to using her efforts to raise money to cover the costs of education for orphaned children.
During the time that Barack Obama, Sr. was being raised, Mama Sarah, who was the second wife of President Obama’s grandfather, was an extremely important character. The Kenyan Luos are the members of the family, and in the biography written by President Obama titled “Dreams from My Father,” Mama Sarah is warmly referred to as “Granny.” Even though they had difficulty communicating at first, they were able to form a strong connection on their first encounter in 1988.
The dedication of Mama Sarah to education was recognised in President Obama’s speech to the United Nations in 2014. Mama Sarah was present at the inauguration of President Obama in that year. During the course of several decades, she had been a foster parent for orphans through the Mama Sara Obama Foundation. She had provided them with vital support, including school supplies, clothing, medical treatment, and school fees.
During an interview with the Associated Press in 2014, Mama Sarah expressed her enthusiasm for education by saying, “I adore education” and highlighting the significantly transformational impact that education has on self-sufficiency, particularly for young women who were frequently denied the opportunity to attend school. In recognition of her exceptional advocacy for education, she was presented with the first-ever United Nations Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Education Pioneer Award in the year 2014. The legacy of Mama Sarah Obama will continue to be carried on by the numerous children whose lives she changed and the countless youngsters who were empowered as a result of her steadfast commitment to education.
