USA first Lady Michelle Obama met with former South African President Nelson Mandela at his home, in Houghton, South Africa, on the second day of a week-long trip to Southern Africa. According to White House officials, Mrs. Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, and her mother, Marian Robinson who accompanied the first lady were viewing some of Mandela’s personal papers at his foundation when he sent word that he wanted to meet them. It was Mrs. Obama’s first meeting with the prisoner-turned-president.
During the visit, Michelle Obama urged young Africans to fight for women’s rights and battle the stigma of AIDS. Using her husband Barack Obama’s “yes, we can” campaign slogan, she hoped to motivate youth across South Africa.
This is Michelle Obama’s second solo trip abroad as the first lady to promote issues such as education, health, and wellness. On her five-day tour, she is accompanied by her daughters Sasha and Malia, and her mother Marian Robinson among others.
Her speech to a group of young women and men at Regina Mundi Church, which played a role in South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, touched on much harder topics like race, discrimination, democracy, and development. Citing leaders of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and leaders of the civil rights movement in the United States, she said, “It is because of them that we are able to gather here today. It is because of them that I stand before you as First Lady of the United States of America.”
Trendy Africa and Agency Reports.
photo credit: Reuters
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