Hi! Recently I've watched a documentary about the Obamas. It fascinated me and I started researching more about them. I've found out somethings, and though it's not much, I'm willing to share my knowledge with you.
Who is Barack Obama?
Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States, born on the 4th of August, 1961. His full name is Barack Hussein Obama II. He was the first African-American president and was a community organiser, a lawyer, a constitutional law professor and an author. He wrote “A Promised Land”, “Dreams From My Father”, and more. If you would like to see them, click here. Two schools are named after Barack Obama in the village of Kogelo, where Barack Obama's father was born. When Barack was a teenager, he worked for Baskin-Robbins and scooped out ice cream for people. Also, Barack means "one who is blessed" in Swahili. Obama has a half sister who is a teacher in Hawaii. His father died from a car accident in Africa, and his mother died of cancer. His maternal grandmother died just before Obama won the election to become president. But then, in 1992, he married Michelle Obama.
Who is Michelle Obama?
Michelle Obama is Barack’s wife. She was the First Lady of America, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University and a law degree from Harvard Law School. Before she became First Lady, she was a lawyer. 6 years after marrying Barack Obama, Michelle gave birth to Malia Ann Obama. 3 years after Malia’s birth, Natasha Obama, or Sasha Obama, came along. Malia became a TV writer at the age of 22, and Sasha is still in
university.
Michelle Obama puts lots of faith in children - girls especially - and believes that they can become greatness if given the right privileges. During her childhood, girls were generally treated badly and didn’t have many opportunities. Back then, people said that girls should only cook and clean, while the boys went for work. Now, Michelle inspires young girls to prove those sayings wrong. Two of her quotes are, “Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own”, and “When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don't stoop to their level. No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high.”
What did the Obamas do to help?
Barack Obama became President of the United States on January 20, 2009. Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people. Obama accepted the prize in Oslo on December 10, 2009. He noted that his efforts were humble, but he donated the prize money to several charities. Barack also supported increasing the minimum wage, requiring women to be paid the same as men at the same job and has called for the first 2 years of college to be fully government-funded for students who study full-time and get good grades.
The two Obamas also started the ‘Obama Foundation’. The Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit organisation founded in 2014. Their mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. They have a Scholar program that gives rising leaders from the United States and around the world who are already making a difference in their communities the opportunity to take their work to the next level through an immersive curriculum that brings together academic, skills-based, and hands-on learning. They also have a Fellowship program which offers hands-on training, resources, and leadership development to help Fellows scale the impact of their work. Fellows participate in four multi-day gatherings where they collaborate with each other, connect with potential partners, and collectively push their work forward. Throughout the program, each Fellow pursues a personalised plan to leverage the Fellowship experience to take their work to the next level. Fellows are people who work with Obama to face some of the world's biggest problems.
Retirement
As it is not possible for a person to be president for three terms, Obama could not run for president again. He was replaced by Republican Donald Trump in early 2017. He left office with a 60% approval rating. Even though he is not the president anymore, Obama still owns a house in Washington, D.C.
Fun in the house!
Before becoming president, Obama promised his daughters that the
family would get a dog if he was elected president. In April 2009, Senator Ted Kennedy, the brother
of former President John F. Kennedy, gave Obama one of his dogs, a Portuguese water dog named Bo. Right now, in 2021, Malia is 23, and Sasha is 20. 59 year old Barack and 57 year old Michelle have gone on some shows to talk about their lives. So let’s just say, it all ended well for the Obama family. To think it all started from Barack running for president.
This isn't that much information, but I hope this blog has intrigued you and made you want to know more. If you would like to learn more, please go online and research. Here's a link you might like to use if you want to know more about the Obama Foundation. The Obamas are a great role model to all of us, and when times get tough, they are determined to keep going. This is what you should feel when you're down. If everything’s going wrong, pick yourself up and start over. Bye bye, and stay happy!
