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Melania Trump visits Malawi school on solo Africa tour

Published

6 years ago

October 4, 2018

US First Lady Melania Trump toured a primary school in Malawi on Thursday on the second leg of her solo tour of Africa as her husband poured praise on her work from back home .
A small handful of protesters held signs along roads in the capital Lilongwe , with one criticising President Trump ’ s reported use of offensive language to describe some African countries earlier this year .

Melania Trump , who is in Africa to promote her children ’ s welfare programme , described her visit to the Chipala primary school as “ an amazing experience ” .

“ Meeting those children and understanding their different way of life is why I wanted to travel here , ” she said in a short speech afterwards at the US embassy .

“ I also wanted to be sure to personally thank each of you for the work that you do here at the embassy in Malawi , ” she added .

Her husband tweeted : “ Our country’ s great First Lady , Melania , is doing really well in Africa . The people love her , and she loves them ! It is a beautiful thing to see . ”

Melania Trump ’ s visit , which started in Ghana and will continue on to Kenya and Egypt , has so far attracted varied interest levels in Africa with few crowds lining streets to see her .

“ I am very proud to see the first lady , ” high school student Sharon Sibo told AFP after being among a group of welcoming pupils at the airport .

“ It was very exciting . I thought I wasn ’ t going to have a chance to see her . ”

At the primary school , the first lady watched dozens of pupils sitting on the ground in the sun as a teacher taught on a blackboard on the side of a building .

Melania Trump ’ s visit to Africa is seen by some as an effort to mend fences after her husband ’ s reported comment that the continent contained “ shithole ” countries .

“ She ’ s shining a light on some of the great things the US is doing in Malawi and Africa . I know she ’ s moved by what the United States is doing in Malawi , ” US Ambassador Virginia Palmer told reporters .

Melania Trump met with Malawian First Lady Gertrude Maseko at the state house for tea before watching three traditional dance performances .

The event was to “ highlight friendly US -Malawi relations” and the pair ’ s “ shared interest in helping children and , in particular , helping girls in school ” , according to the White House .

On Wednesday , she visited a former slave trading fort in Ghana after arriving in Africa from Washington on Tuesday .

The first lady later left Malawi for Kenya .

( AFP )