August 2006: Senator Barack Obama peers out of what was Nelson Mandela’s prison cell on Robben Island off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa (Photo: Pete Souza)
Obama also will tour a community center with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town.
The centerpiece of the trip will be the president’s speech at the University of Cape Town, where he will deliver a message that the United States intends to significantly boost its presence on the continent….
…. Michelle Obama, too, will have a full schedule. She will speak to girls at a Senegal middle school and with students at a South African high school, and she will participate in a first ladies summit hosted by the George W. Bush Institute. Former first lady Laura Bush also will participate, along with first ladies of African nations, officials said.
SNIP
….. visiting a health clinic in a township near Cape Town, Sen. Obama talks to Sisisipo Mngeni, 3, whose mother Nomathamsanqa Mngeni (top right) is HIV positive
During a visit to the Rosa Parks Library in Soweto, Sen. Obama examines a 1966 photograph of Sen. Bobby Kennedy who visited the famous township during the apartheid era
….. visiting with children at the Milé Refugee camp
Mery Daniel, 31, shares that spirit. “I choose to focus on the positive,” she says. “I’m happy to be alive.” Of patients like Daniel, Spaulding’s Dr. David Crandell tells PEOPLE, “It’s been incredible to see their resilience.” After a trauma like this, Daniel, who is studying for the medical boards, says, “You look at people in a different way: what’s inside of them, what defines them.” She adds, “I didn’t have a decision to make about my leg. It was gone when I woke up. To be frank, it wasn’t that emotional. I mean, it hurt. But in the grand scheme of things, I was just happy to be alive. The doctor woke me after surgery and said, ‘You’re very lucky because your heart stopped twice.’”
Professional ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet, 32, tells PEOPLE, “The fact that people truly believe I’m going to dance again has been a big deal. I’ve had studios from all over the country send pictures with little girls holding signs that say, ‘We believe in you, Adrianne!’ That makes me believe it, especially in the hard moments.”
Heather Abbott, 38, says, “When I was in the hospital, Aviva Drescher, one of the Real Housewives of New York, came to visit. She has a prosthetic leg, and it looked just like a real leg. It had veins and a birthmark. Seeing her and speaking to her helped me feel better about what kind of choices I have. It helped me see that some things in life wouldn’t have to change that much. That was a big deal.”
The lives of the 16 people who lost limbs that day were forever changed.
Among the most grievously hurt were Marc Fucarile, 34, of Stoneham, Mass., and Roseann Sdoia, 45, of Boston, who are featured in the issue and exclusive PEOPLE videos.
Stranded when the last available ambulances raced past them, the pair were thrown in the back of a police van to be rushed to the hospital.
As the vehicle hurtled through the streets of Boston, Fucarile, whose right leg was blown off, drifted in and out of consciousness. "I thought I was going to die," says the father of a son, Gavin, 5.
11:30 AM EDT: President Obama Speaks on the Equal Pay Act
White House Live
This is Fantastic!!!!!!
Thank you again, Mr President. Standing up for our rights!
C-Span * CBS
The Right to Equal Pay for Equal Work
June 10, 2013 | 2:55 | Public Domain
Did You Know That Women Are Still Paid Less Than Men? In 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act but till this day full-time working women are still paid, on average, less than men. This significant gap is more than a statistic -- it has real life consequences. When women, who make up nearly half the workforce, bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of their families, and over a lifetime of work, far less savings for retirement. Learn more about how President Obama is tackling this issue: http://www.whitehouse.gov/equalpay