The Kenyan and the US flags unite beneath a portrait of U.S. President Barack Obama in a souvenir sold on the dirt streets of Kogelo.Home village of Obama's late father, Kogelo hosted a 5,000-strong inauguration celebration, slaughtering bulls and goats for food; erecting movie screens for live viewing of the inauguration in Washington, D.C.; and dancing in traditional garb to the beat of leather drums, the Associated Press reported.
In anticipation of Barack Obama's inauguration, Kenyans dance in Kogelo, home of the new President's step-grandmother. "Mama Sarah," as Obama calls her, however, was in Washington, D.C., where she shared the inaugural stage with him on January 20.The dance was part of an Obama-centered cultural festival that began on January 16 and which locals hope to make an annual attraction, according to the Kenyan Daily Nation newspaper.
The Kogelo, Kenya, primary school served as the "Official Obama Office" during inauguration festivities in the new President's ancestral village.The school was the main inauguration gathering spot in Kogelo, but the institution may face stiff competition during future festivals. Kenya has allocated the equivalent of about a million U.S. dollars for an Obama cultural center in the village, according to Kenya's Daily Nation.
Kogelo residents slaughtered "two bulls, three rams, several goats, chickens and fish" to help feed the thousands of revelers at Obama-inauguration festivities.
Kenyan children celebrate at an inauguration party in Kisumu, the nearest city to Barack Obama's ancestral village of Kogelo.
An employee of Japan's Ogawa Rubber Inc paints an eye on a rubber mask of U.S President-elect Barack Obama at the company's factory in Saitama city, Tokyo. Ogawa Rubber said it has produced and sold more than 2,500 Obama face masks since December, and 1,000 more are being manufactured, making it their fastest selling product.
Pictured are the Sweet Sasha, left, and Marvelous Malia dolls made by Ty Inc., the creators of the Beanie Babies at Lamont's gift shop inside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Chicago. The daughters of President Barack Obama are the inspiration for the latest in the TyGirlz Collection.