Sarah Obama, step-grandmother of former US President Barack Obama, died at the age of 99. Authorities
reported that Mama Sarah Onyango Obama died in Kenya, while receiving treatment at a Kisumu hospital. The public message of comfort provided by President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, partially stated that the Obama family matriarch has been an icon of family values, in addition to a philanthropist who contributed to the progress of the Kenyan nation. Her death was described as a ‘big blow.’
Religion News reported that Obama’s beloved grandmother supported groups of women and children orphaned by HIV and AIDS, through a non-governmental organization known as the Safeguard Orphans and Widows Organization (SAWO). Additionally, the philanthropist also took care of widows through the California-headquartered Mama Sarah Obama Foundation.
The website further explained that grandparents who are raising orphans in many sub-Saharan communities has become common place. For this reason, Mama Sarah Obama started with feeding programs to assist orphans in her community. According to religion news, she even adopted several orphans, then later established the Mama Sarah Obama Foundation. The foundation’s mission is said to improve the education and welfare of disenfranchised children, to help them successfully achieve their goals, while enabling them to have a better future. The Obama family matriarch had a strong legacy of community work and benevolence.
“She was a loving and celebrated philanthropist who graciously shared the little she had with the less fortunate in her community,” President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya said in a statement.
Former president Obama mentioned the loss of his family’s matriarch on Twitter.
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
“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,” Obama said in a tweet.