An Obama family reunion in the works?
By Miriam Pepper | June 03, 2009 | Kenya
Miriam Pepper is in Kenya on a two-week fellowship with the International Reporting Project of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She posts today from the family home of Barack Obama's father. View a slide of photos here.
Mama Sarah Obama says the president's aunt, who received some attention for overstaying her visa in Boston, called today to say she is returning to Kenya.
The president's step grandmother met today with a dozen U.S. journalists in her front yard in Kogelo, near Kisumu, on the family property where Barack Obama's father was born, raised and is buried.
She lives surrounded by children and grandchildren and is active in helping widows, orphans and schoolchildren.
In response to a question about what the president's life might have been like if he had grown up in Kenya, she said he still would have succeeded in everything he did because he valued education.
She said many neighbors now assume she is wealthy, which is not so. And she wants others to know that all gifts from thousands of visitors to her small farm are distributed to schools, widows and orphans.
The only apparent change to her home property is a security entrance, with guards and tents, at her small farm. The family raises maize (corn), sweet potatoes, beans.
Wood cane chairs for visitors are carved with "yes we can" and "mama sarah."
At 87, she entertains English speakers easily (using a translator), scarf draped over her lap, against a background of frolicking grandchildren, a grazing goat, a yard full of roosters and laundry drying on a clothes line.
The simple metal roof home is in the center facing the gated entry ( a traditional arrangement), with homes nearby for family. The grave of Obama's father and grandfather are simple sites often visited by guests.
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