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Nairobi
19 January 2009
Half-way around the world from Washington, many people in Kenya are celebrating the historic inauguration of Barack Obama with special pride.
For the first time a giant television screen was installed in Nairobi's main convention center to broadcast the U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony. In publicizing the event, a local television network, KTN, invited the public to watch, in KTN's words, "Our son make American history."
Mr. Obama's father, Barack Obama Senior, hails from western Kenya, giving Kenyans a special connection with the new president. Nairobi-resident Elphas Chazara, 39, says he is still amazed at the thought that someone with Kenyan roots will be residing at the White House.
"We will be proud because one of us becomes a president in America!" he said.
Mr. Obama has visited Kenya several times. The last visit was in 2006, when he toured the country as a U.S. senator. He spoke about improving education, strengthening democracy, and eliminating poverty and corruption as important steps toward improving the lives of Kenyans.
The people here say they have high hopes that these issues will now be a part of President Obama's development agenda for the country.
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