Leroy N. Soetoro
2017-09-04 20:34:53 UTC
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/09/02/obamas-struggling-
ancestral-kenya-village-misses-him-and-cashing-his-presidency/581838001/
KOGELO, Kenya Barack Obamas ancestral village here laments his exit
from the White House because that also caused an exit of tourists and
financing for a community now wringing its hands over the future.
Elders recently gathered at the local chief's camp to discuss how to
handle the rapid drop-off in Obama-spurred visitors, donations and other
benefits the 44th president of the United States brought to the place
where his father was born.
We didnt imagine life will be this bad without Obama, said Willys
Otieno, 45, a village. The white people have left the village with their
money. There are no more tourists coming here, and we (still) have to pay
bills for everything.
Students have dropped out of local private schools because theyve lost
scholarships funded by the Mama Sarah Obama Foundation, the Barack H.
Obama Foundation and the Barack Obama Secondary School and Primary School.
A few donor-funded health clinics in the region have shut down because of
a lack of funding.
Life changed early this year when Obama retired," said Grace Anyango, 16,
a student who has depended on a scholarship to attend the Obama Secondary
School. "I have been out of school for lack of fees. My friends have also
dropped out.
The former president's office had no comment about Kogelo's plight.
Obama did not directly fund the charities. But his family here used his
name and high office to raise money and assist the poor in this village of
3,000 residents, 250 miles east of the capital, Nairobi.
During Obama's candidacy and eight years in office, a steady stream of
journalists, tourists and others flocked to sleepy Kogelo to discover the
birthplace of Barack Obama Sr., who died in 1982, and to meet the
president's step-grandmother, Mama Sarah. The village provided a backdrop
to scenes in Obamas best-selling 1995 autobiography Dreams from My
Father.
The Kenyan government paved roads, extended electricity and water lines
and built a police station in the village in response to all the
attention.
Donors also rushed to help the village build an educational and health
system. Many residents came to depend on charities driven by buzz around
Obamas presidency. Some residents even received grants from well-wishers
to build new homes.
Now Obama's step-grandmother regularly decries the pathetic state of the
Barack Obama schools since her grandson left office, blaming lack of
maintenance. We need to support them, as they will act as reservoirs for
local brains, she said.
Nicholas Rajula, Obamas cousin and a family spokesman who owns a resort
in the village, agreed that his famous relatives departure from the White
House has really affected his family and village.
Life is completely different here since Obama left office, Rajula said.
It has really affected my business, because there are no international
guests coming to the village.
Some still see an opportunity for the village, because the ex-presidents
half-brother, Malik Obama, was a vocal booster of Donald Trump during the
2016 campaign, Rajula said.
We are expecting President Trump to reward Malik for his overwhelming
support he accorded him, he said, amid cheers from nearby villagers.
When he (Trump) gives Malik a good job, then the village will still
benefit.
That seems doubtful. The village might receive more help from Auma Obama,
the former president's half-sister, who has helped raise funds for
constructing a university on a 50-acre plot of land in the village.
According to Rajula, the foundation is seeking to build a world-class
university named after Obama, plus an early childhood development center
to assist widows in Kogelo.
Mama Sarah has asked Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to visit Kogelo and
lay a foundation stone for what is tentatively being called Barack Obama
University College. The university will serve all Kenyans regardless of
their political, social and tribal inclinations, she said.
Even if it gets built, Otieno doesn't believe the university will keep the
village from sliding back into the rampant poverty that prevailed before
Obama was president.
We dont need structures. We need free health care and our children to go
to school, he said. We want to see white people coming here like it used
to be when our son was president."
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.
ancestral-kenya-village-misses-him-and-cashing-his-presidency/581838001/
KOGELO, Kenya Barack Obamas ancestral village here laments his exit
from the White House because that also caused an exit of tourists and
financing for a community now wringing its hands over the future.
Elders recently gathered at the local chief's camp to discuss how to
handle the rapid drop-off in Obama-spurred visitors, donations and other
benefits the 44th president of the United States brought to the place
where his father was born.
We didnt imagine life will be this bad without Obama, said Willys
Otieno, 45, a village. The white people have left the village with their
money. There are no more tourists coming here, and we (still) have to pay
bills for everything.
Students have dropped out of local private schools because theyve lost
scholarships funded by the Mama Sarah Obama Foundation, the Barack H.
Obama Foundation and the Barack Obama Secondary School and Primary School.
A few donor-funded health clinics in the region have shut down because of
a lack of funding.
Life changed early this year when Obama retired," said Grace Anyango, 16,
a student who has depended on a scholarship to attend the Obama Secondary
School. "I have been out of school for lack of fees. My friends have also
dropped out.
The former president's office had no comment about Kogelo's plight.
Obama did not directly fund the charities. But his family here used his
name and high office to raise money and assist the poor in this village of
3,000 residents, 250 miles east of the capital, Nairobi.
During Obama's candidacy and eight years in office, a steady stream of
journalists, tourists and others flocked to sleepy Kogelo to discover the
birthplace of Barack Obama Sr., who died in 1982, and to meet the
president's step-grandmother, Mama Sarah. The village provided a backdrop
to scenes in Obamas best-selling 1995 autobiography Dreams from My
Father.
The Kenyan government paved roads, extended electricity and water lines
and built a police station in the village in response to all the
attention.
Donors also rushed to help the village build an educational and health
system. Many residents came to depend on charities driven by buzz around
Obamas presidency. Some residents even received grants from well-wishers
to build new homes.
Now Obama's step-grandmother regularly decries the pathetic state of the
Barack Obama schools since her grandson left office, blaming lack of
maintenance. We need to support them, as they will act as reservoirs for
local brains, she said.
Nicholas Rajula, Obamas cousin and a family spokesman who owns a resort
in the village, agreed that his famous relatives departure from the White
House has really affected his family and village.
Life is completely different here since Obama left office, Rajula said.
It has really affected my business, because there are no international
guests coming to the village.
Some still see an opportunity for the village, because the ex-presidents
half-brother, Malik Obama, was a vocal booster of Donald Trump during the
2016 campaign, Rajula said.
We are expecting President Trump to reward Malik for his overwhelming
support he accorded him, he said, amid cheers from nearby villagers.
When he (Trump) gives Malik a good job, then the village will still
benefit.
That seems doubtful. The village might receive more help from Auma Obama,
the former president's half-sister, who has helped raise funds for
constructing a university on a 50-acre plot of land in the village.
According to Rajula, the foundation is seeking to build a world-class
university named after Obama, plus an early childhood development center
to assist widows in Kogelo.
Mama Sarah has asked Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to visit Kogelo and
lay a foundation stone for what is tentatively being called Barack Obama
University College. The university will serve all Kenyans regardless of
their political, social and tribal inclinations, she said.
Even if it gets built, Otieno doesn't believe the university will keep the
village from sliding back into the rampant poverty that prevailed before
Obama was president.
We dont need structures. We need free health care and our children to go
to school, he said. We want to see white people coming here like it used
to be when our son was president."
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.
