Norwood News

If there is another place on earth as focused on our inauguration today as we are, it is the small East African nation of Kenya. The home of President Barack Obama’s father, Kenya declared a national holiday after Obama’s election in November. Since then their pride and interest has continued to grow.

I had the opportunity to visit Kenya earlier this month. It is a place of great natural beauty and stifling poverty where people are struggling to find ways to support themselves and their families.  Kenyans are proud of what Americans have done and amazed at the same time.  They are quick to tell Americans how remarkable the world sees our popular election of a member of a minority group as our chief executive.

Beyond this pride and amazement, Kenyans are hopeful. They are hoping Obama’s election will mean good things for democracy in Kenya and throughout Africa and the developing world.

Our hosts during my visit were the DeLaSalle Brothers, a Catholic teaching order. Their schools in the United States include Manhattan College here in the Bronx. They have run schools and programs in Kenya for more than 50 years. A large number of young Kenyans have entered the order in recent years and, in speaking with them, I sensed their hope as well as their pride.

They are fascinated and encouraged with the smooth transition of power in the United States. Kenya went through a crushing period of post-election violence a year ago. Their hope is that Africans will be watching this transition in particular because of Obama and that it will lead to progress in elections in Kenya and the rest of Africa. They are watching the process in Ghana where it appears power is about to transfer peacefully after recent national elections.

We attended a meeting of landlords and tenants in a Nairobi slum called Mathere. A year ago violence flared in the slums as tenants attacked landlords of differing ethnic groups. It is remarkable to see these two groups now sitting down in a small church building, trying to work out their differences in an organized manner. I reminded the participants that Barack Obama’s first job was as a community organizer, working to help residents of Chicago to find solutions to neighborhood issues.

As a young child I recall the excitement created by John Kennedy’s election, the first Irish Catholic President. It had an impact for Catholics across America, but it also set forth a burst of pride in Ireland which was displayed when Kennedy visited.

Kenyans can’t wait for President Obama to visit.  I think it’s a pretty sure bet that he will.

-John Reilly is the Executive Director of the Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation and a life-long Bedford Park resident.