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Press Release | 10.19.2010
Munich . On Thursday, 14 October 2010 at 7:30 p.m., Auma Obama presented her recently published autobiography in a discussion with presenter Peter Fraas in BMW Welt. The tribute was given by Willi Lemke, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace. US Consul General Conrad Robert Tribble gave a warm welcome, along with publisher Stefan Lübbe and the head of BMW Welt, Thomas Muderlak. BMW Finance Director Dr. Friedrich Eichiner gave a speech of thanks on behalf of the enthusiastic public and presented a bouquet of flowers.
Auma Obama showed a number of hitherto unpublished pictures and films of her family. Her autobiography was brought to life on stage, danced by “Unterwegstheater”, with sound provided by her musician friend Suzanna Owiyo. Elke, a German friend of many years, and former fellow students from Bayreuth were also involved, as surprise guests.
The author then stayed signing her book into the late evening. “I expected Ms Obama to be charming, but I was very impressed by her authenticity and social commitment. This event will be a highlight for us for a long time to come”, commented Thomas Muderlak, head of BMW Welt in Munich.
About the book (an English version is being planned):
While her younger brother Barack grew up in the USA and Indonesia, the setting for Auma Obama’s childhood was the other end of the world: in Kenya, where their father was born. The two siblings only met for the first time in the 1980s. In the years that followed, they travelled together through Kenya, exploring the family history, before Auma supported her brother on his path to the US Presidency. Auma spent 16 years in Germany, where she studied German Language and Literature and attended the famous German Film and Television Academy in Berlin. Finally, love took her to England, where her daughter was born. But living between two worlds and in contrasting cultures was a constant challenge, and her longing for her homeland grew. On behalf of CARE International, she returned to Kenya, where she now works with young people, helping them to become confident enough to take control of their own futures.
The author:
Auma Obama was born in the remote hamlet of Gendia in south Nyanza, Kenya, immediately after the country had gained its independence. She was brought up initially by her mother and her grandparents on her father’s side, and later by her father and an American stepmother. Educated in English-style boarding schools, she finally left Kenya to study in Germany. Today, Auma Obama lives with her daughter and partner in Nairobi, where she is involved in international educational projects.
