Barack and Michelle Obama are back from their vacation and have got down to work with The Obama Foundation.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, former US President Barack Obama shared an emotional letter that Sindhu, an Indian-American, had written to Michelle Obama.
In her letter to Michelle, Sindhu writes about an incident that happened when she was 17 years old. It was 1996 and Sindhu was in a chapel when she had the chance to listen to an inspiring talk by a woman whose name she did not know.
“But she will never forget the fire that was lit to make something of her life, and to use that life to serve others,” Sindhu writes referring to herself as the girl.
‘Thank You Michelle Obama’
Many years later, Sindhu found out that the lady who had given the inspiring talk that changed her life was none other than the former First Lady Michelle Obama. She thanks the Obamas for their “profound levels of activism within our community.”
“Thank you, Michelle, for helping a vulnerable teenager raised to comply to start to challenge the notion that she was powerless. Thank you, Michelle, for teaching by both words and example that the best uses of power and influence are in the service of others and our community.”
‘I’m Now Raising a Feminist Son’
Sindhu, who is 38 now, writes that she’s married to an “Indian feminist man and raising a feminist 3-year-old son (whose middle name is Atticus and who thinks he is actually Thomas the train).”
“The ways in which you have impacted the world have left me expecting so much more from our world. And I know that this is not an expectation I can have without being part of that change,” writes Sindhu.
“The events from this week, this amazing women’s march, echoed globally that the expectations I have are not ones I hold in isolation. I want a different world. I need a different world. So when you get back from your vacation, I wanted to let you know. I’m in.”
You can read the full letter here.
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