Obama's Flat in Poki Street

This has been the highlight of the tour. Although it was expensive it was nice to hire a car and cruise around at a slow speed along the sunny Hawaiian streets.

I coped with driving on the right, and thanks to the GPS Satellite Navigation I did not get lost, but I would never have found my way there without it.

After visiting the Lutheran Church that Obama had attended I went in hunt of his house in Poki Street. This address is the famous one that his school friends remember visiting. And Poki Street is just around the corner from  the Lutheran Church. I walked up and down in search of 1839. At first I was convinced it must have been bulldozed to make room for an extra car park for the church. I saw some flats next to the car park, so I thought "I bet he lived in a flat rather like one of those, I will take  picture to get an idea of the sort of place he lived in.

Then I walked closer and I thought I saw the number, rather faded I think you will agree :-

Well, they didn't  bulldoze it after all! They can't  bulldoze it now! I was thrilled, I'd found the place where Barack Obama had lived as a child in Hawaii! Not a house but a flat in a simple seventies style block

.

I took this photo and then as I approached the flats a girl was coming down the stairs. 

"Is this the place where Barack Obama lived?" I asked.

"Yes, it is, as far as we can tell he lived in No.9 on the top floor, where we are living now."

"O wow! could I like inside?"

"Would you like to? You'd be most welcome. You can see his humble origins!"

"Oh thanks! Wow! Have lots of people been to see his place?"

"You are the first one!"

Talk about humble origins! Talk about Poki Street.... it was a poki, poky (!) flat! But I encouraged the girls living there that it had a nice relaxed holiday atmosphere. However it was small, a single living area with kitchenette at one end. probably only two bedrooms. Of course I didn't want to invade the girls privacy but they  were happy for me to come in and I only took photos with their permission. And here's one they took of me sitting on their sofa. 

To think, if I had been a few minutes later I would have missed them and never seen inside. 

"I don't think it's been remodelled since the day he lived in it!"

Certainly the sink and the cooker looked seventies style. This was probably the very worktop that Barack's mother prepared his sandwiches! There are more pictures but you'll have to buy my book to see them!

When you see the school with it's 74 acres of manicured lawns and beautiful buildings, and you see this small humble flat you can only begin to guess the sacrifices that his family of modest means must have made in order to send Barack to one of the most prestigious schools in the world! Thanks to them he is where he is now.