The former president's half-sister

Auma Obama: This Is Barack's Half-Sister He Met At Age 24

Did you know that former U.S. President Barack Obama has a half-sister named Auma Obama? The half-siblings didn't grow up together, however, and Auma didn't meet her brother until he was 24.

Barack Obama is a former President of the United States
He has a half-sister that he met later in life
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Auma Obama and Barack Obama are half-siblings, but they only met in their 20s. Barack and Auma have the same father, Barack Obama Sr., but different mothers. Auma Obama spent part of her life in Germany and starting in 1980 studied German and sociology at several schools including the University of Heidelberg.

It was around this time that Barack Obama and his sister finally came into contact. The former American president wrote a letter to Auma in 1984, whereupon the German student visited her brother in the United States.

Barack Obama's sister: Auma Obama

Auma Obama and Barack Obama went on trips together

A few years later, Auma and Barack Obama toured Kenya together. Barack later recorded getting to know his half-sister in his book Dreams From My Father. "I felt as if someone had turned my world upside down, as if I had woken up and a blue sun was standing in a yellow sky or as if I heard animals speak like people," he wrote of the meeting.

Auma is one of Barack's five paternal half-siblings. He also has one maternal half-sister, but no full-siblings. Auma Obama supported her brother actively in his 2008 election campaign.

The half-siblings Auma Obama and Barack Obama

Barack Obama's siblings: His half-sister Auma Obama

Like Barack Obama, Auma Obama does important work and is committed to social projects. In 2010, she founded her own nonprofit called the Sauti Kuu Foundation, which works with children and young people in Kenya.

Auma Obama is also a minor celebrity in Germany, appearing regularly on talk programs, and she was even a contestant on Germany's TV dance competition Let's Dance.

Translated from German, she told the RTL channel: "It's just great fun to be there and that's how I want to do it with Let's Dance - the main thing is that it's fun." Her season was in 2021.

For more on the Obama family, learn more about Barack Obama's mother here.