Auma Obama Quotes

If it’s just about my brother, I’ll never be a role model.

It's special for us and for our children and for our communities because it tells every child that if you work hard you can do whatever you want in this world. You can make you future

I work for my own foundation, called Sauti Kuu (Powerful Voices) Foundation, which I started about two years ago. The focus of the work is to teach young people—girls, in particular—who are from underprivileged backgrounds, that there are valuable resources they can use to improve their lives before they look outwardly to see whether someone will give them relief food or clothing or all of the other things we give them so often in the humanitarian world.

I felt a kinship with him automatically. I was very nervous and worried about not connecting immediately and then having to be in his home—because I was going to be staying with him. But when I met him it was so easy. We just started talking as though we’d known each other always, and that was actually something really special.

He wanted to know everything about us, everything about my father everything about our family. I took him to so many relatives. It was part of finding about his own identity.

I can’t believe that these young people are just trying to demonstrate for their rights and to tell them that we understand that they need to use their voices, and we are being tear-gassed. We’re being teargassed! We have flags and banners, nothing else.

How can you tear-gas your own people? Listen to them. Listen to these children; they’re the future.

Why am I taking part? Because I love to dance. And whether I can dance well—I'm like those who sing in the shower. I think I can dance well, but we’ll see in a few days if it’s really the case.

You can’t do this or that because you’re a girl. Or, You have to do this because you’re a girl. I asked Why? I’m a human being first.

I'm proud of our name because my brother has really carried our name up there ... it's made its mark in the world.

Germans always like to think that they have a very liberal attitude towards Africans. But when you scratch the surface you can see that they they still carry around the prejudices of their childhood. In German fairy tales black people always appear as the bogey man. You don't forget things like that so easily.

Once others hear your voice loud and clear, they realise you exist.

I had really nobody in my family whom I could talk about these things with. This passion for making a difference, the passion for helping young people find out who they are, gain strength in their own identity, those were things I was struggling with as well. I realized very young that if I don’t do it myself, nobody can really do it for me. I think young people need to be helped toward that realization.

Poverty is no excuse. Development aid has to be linked to economic development,

My brother is authentic. He really believes in what he is trying to do. So there’s no hidden agenda. In that sense, he really is an open book. And I think that authenticity, that passion, and the image and the drive—it resonates with people.