Full Name Sarah Okech Ex-spouse Hussein Onyango Obama | Parents Omar Okech Siblings Abdo Omar Okech | |
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Born c. 1920 (age 96–97) Kenya Other names Sarah ObamaSarah OgwelSarah Hussein ObamaSarah Anyango Obama Relatives Malia and Sasha Obama (step-great-granddaughters) Children Zeituni Onyango, Yusuf Obama, Sayid Obama, Omar Okech Obama Similar Barack Obama Sr, Zeituni Onyango, Auma Obama, Ann Dunham, Malik Obama | ||
Sarah Onyango Obama (born 1920) is a Kenyan educator and philanthropist. She is the third wife of the paternal grandfather of U.S. president Barack Obama. She is known for short as Sarah Obama; she is sometimes referred to as Sarah Ogwel, Sarah Hussein Obama, or Sarah Anyango Obama. She lives in Nyang'oma Kogelo village, 30 miles west of western Kenya's main town, Kisumu, on the edge of Lake Victoria.
Although she is not a blood relation, Barack Obama calls her "Granny Sarah". Sarah, who speaks Luo and only a few words of English, communicates with President Obama through an interpreter.
On July 4, 2008, Sarah Obama attended the United States Independence Day celebrations in Nairobi, hosted by Michael Ranneberger, the U.S. ambassador in Kenya.
During the U.S. presidential campaign, she protested attempts to portray Obama as a foreigner to the United States or as a Muslim, saying that while Obama's grandfather had been a Muslim, "In the world of today, children have different religions from their parents." Sarah Obama is "a strong believer of the Islamic faith", in her words.
In November 2014, Sarah Obama received an award from the United Nations for the work of an education foundation that she heads, as a part of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day.
