President Barack Obama's victory spurred celebrations throughout the nation and around the world, with his grandmother celebrating her grandson's reelection thousands of miles from Washington, D.C., in her tiny western Kenyan village.
Sarah Onyango Obama, the step-grandmother of Barack Obama, danced and rejoiced in Kogelo, a dirt-road town in Kenya that was once the home of the president's father, the Associated Press reports. She was seen singing and dancing, jubilantly celebrating her grandson winning a second term in the White House.
Obama's grandma was not the only one in Kenya rejoicing. Prime Minister Raila Odinga told the AP that Obama's reelection was great news. "Obama's victory has proved that it was not a fluke the first time round, that the American society has changed, that the people of America have now, basically living the American dream of a people who are united by race, by religion, by ethnicity and so on," Odinga said. "People are prepared to work together to build their country."
Sarah Onyango Obama is the second wife of the president's paternal grandfather. Obama lovingly refers to his grandmother as "granny" in his memoir, "Dreams from My Father."
Back in 2008, Slate magazine went to visit "Mama Sarah," who is now 90 years old, when Obama was running against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). She not only expressed both love and admiration for her grandson.
"Barack is a good listener," she told Slate's Andy Isaacson. "He is somebody who pays attention to the plight of people. With those kinds of attributes, I think he will be in a better position to sort out the problems that are bedeviling the world. I think he's got all it takes to be a world leader."
Obama clinched the 2012 election, beating GOP candidate Mitt Romney, 303 electoral votes to Romney's 206.
When Obama delivered his victory speech, he proved his beloved "granny" right when he spoke of easing the struggles of the American people and persevering until better days. "You, the American people, reminded us that while our road ahead has been hard," he said, "while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come."
Related
Before You Go
