The first lady’s trip to South Africa and Botswana mark her second official solo trip.
First Lady Michelle Obama holds a bouquet of flowers, and daughters Malia, right, and Sasha, are draped in blankets given to them upon landing in Pretoria Monday. (Source: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, Pool)
First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in Pretoria, South Africa, Monday evening—along with her mother, Marian Roberts, daughters, Malia and Sasha, and her brother’s two children—for a weeklong trip to the African continent that also includes a stop in Botswana later in the week.
The family was greeted at the Waterkloof Air Force base by U.S. Ambassador Donald Gips and his family and South African officials Grace Mason, acting chief of protocol and Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, minister of correctional services.
It is winter in South Africa and currently a chilly 51 degrees. Mason’s children gave the Obama girls blankets with the colors of the nation’s flag. The first lady wore a bright orange and black sweater created by the designer Duro Olowu, who is of African descent.
On Tuesday, Obama is scheduled to meet Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, one of South African President Jacob Zuma’s wives, before heading to Johannesburg, where she will participate in a tour of the Nelson Mandela Foundation led by the former president’s wife, Graça Machel. Later in the day, the first lady is scheduled to visit a day care center and tour the Apartheid Museum.
Check out BET.com for daily updates from the first lady's trip. Twitter users will be able to track updates about the first lady's experiences and interact with others who are following the trip with the hashtag #youngafrica.
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