Dr Auma Obama was born and raised in Kenya. She studied in Germany, obtaining a Master’s degree at Heidelberg University, completing her doctorate studies at the University of Bayreuth with a doctoral thesis and graduated from the German Film and Television Academy Berlin.

On completion of her studies, Dr Obama freelanced as a journalist for various media houses and as a consultant for adult political education for Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft. She then moved to the United Kingdom, where she worked briefly as a German lecturer at the University of Reading, later working in marketing and ultimately for the Children’s Services. In 2007 she returned to Kenya to work for the humanitarian agency CARE International. A key component of her work there was the creation and coordination of the Sport for Social Change Network, an initiative that brought together grassroots organisations from various countries in Africa and Southern Asia, using sport as a tool for social change.

In 2010 Dr Auma Obama founded the Sauti Kuu Foundation, of which she is the Director. The foundation seeks to give a voice to financially and socially disadvantaged children and youth. Using a self-help model of intervention, it works to unlock their potential and enable them to actively participate in improving their lives.