Auma Obama Kenyan-British social activist, sociologist, journalist, writer and half-sister of the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama Date of Birth: . Country: Kenya

1. Auma Obama: A Trailblazing Social Activist, Author, and Educator
2. Origins and Education
3. Post-Education Life
4. Other Engagements

Auma Obama: A Trailblazing Social Activist, Author, and Educator

Auma Obama, a Kenyan-British social activist, sociologist, journalist, author, and half-sister of the 44th U.S. President Barack Obama, has dedicated her life to empowering underprivileged youth in her native Kenya.

Origins and Education

Auma Obama is the daughter of Barack Obama Sr. and his first wife, Kezia Obama (née Aoko). She is the elder half-sister of Barack Obama. After attending local primary and secondary schools in Kenya (1973-1978), she was awarded a scholarship to study in Germany. She studied German at the University of Heidelberg from 1981 to 1987. After graduating from Heidelberg, she pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Bayreuth, earning her Ph.D. in 1996. She also attended the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin. Obama's final project at the Film Academy was the 20-minute film "All That Glitters" (1993), which juxtaposes genre conventions to depict the vulnerabilities of Black life in post-reunification Germany.

Post-Education Life

Obama resided in the United Kingdom after her studies. There, she assisted her mother, Kezia, in relocating from Kenya to Britain. Kezia obtained British citizenship in 2011. In 1996, Obama married Ian Manners, a British citizen. They became parents to Akinyi Manners (born 1997). Obama and Manners divorced in 2000. In 2007, Obama and Akinyi moved to Kenya.

Obama worked in Kenya for five years with the international aid organization CARE International before establishing her own charity, the Sauti Kuu Foundation, also known as Auma Obama Foundation. In 2021, she competed as a contestant on the German dance show "Let's Dance," the German version of "Dancing with the Stars." She reached 5th place.

Other Engagements

In 2011, Obama was interviewed for Turk Pipkin's documentary film "Building Hope" and was the subject of a German documentary titled "The Education of Auma Obama." In 2017, Obama was awarded the T&V Rheinland Global Compact Award at the Fourth International T&V Rheinland Global Compact Award ceremony in Cologne, Germany. At the award ceremony, she received a specially commissioned bronze sculpture, "Der Griff nach den Sternen" ("Reaching for the Stars") by artist Hannes Helmke.

Obama is the author of the book "And Then Life Happens," published in 2012 by St. Martin's Press. She is a member of the World Future Council. She is also a trustee of the German Reading Foundation, as well as a member of the advisory board of the Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies at the University of Bayreuth. She serves on the board of the Kilimanjaro Initiative in Nairobi. Since 2014, Dr. Obama has been the Patron of the Storymoja Festivals International in Kenya. She is also the initiator of the Sauti Kuu Act Now Awards.