By Mark Obama Ndesandjo

Editor’s Note: The writer, a Kenya-born half-brother to United States President Barack Obama, lives in China’s Guangdong Province where he teaches piano to orphans and advises Chinese companies about the Internet. He’s also an author, composer and artist. A Mandarin-speaker, he calls himself “a global citizen bringing cultures together”. Recently, he published an intensely personal novel, Nairobi to Shenzhen, and made these remarks at a press conference about the book.

GUANGZHOU, China – I’m greatly indebted to the Chinese people who, in their warmth, graciousness and magnanimity, have given me the opportunity to live, work, volunteer and create in the city of Shenzhen these past seven years.

Nairobi to Shenzhen is my first published novel. It’s available from major online retailers like amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.

The protagonist, upon arriving in China in the wake of 9/11 and the onset of a terrifying global war, is forced to confront his early experiences in Kenya and the United States as a result of his growing love for a beautiful Chinese woman and a young orphan. Parallels between his own upbringing and the potential family ahead lead to questions about his true identity, the complexities of his multi-racial family and the relationship he knew with his father.

A work of fiction, this novel has been many years in the making. The characters are composites of people I’ve known, and the story reflects many experiences in my own life as a child brought up in Kenya and who has studied and lived in America and China. I started the novel as an autobiography, but as I became more involved in the extraordinary events of the past few years, life forced me to write something much bigger than me.

The story revolves around four themes: domestic violence, the pursuit of dreams, the spirit of service and the power of love. I didn’t prepare these themes beforehand. It was as if my whole life prepared me to write this book. I wanted to make people aware of how they can enhance the lives of others and overcome their own flaws, making their lives and those of people around them a little better.

Nairobi to Shenzhen isn’t about my brother, although President Barack Obama helped to inspire me to come to terms with my past. It’s not even really about me. It’s about sons and fathers, who are of the same cloth but with weaknesses they don’t see until too late.

My father beat me. He beat my mother. For many years, I shut away these thoughts in the back of my mind. I thought they weren’t important. But in the middle of a man’s life, the death of someone close, the loss of a job (and I have been there), the loss of one’s mother at an early age, as happened to my father, or even the movement of millions of people from an atmosphere of fear to one of hope, can make that man see himself anew and change his life for better or worse.

As I wrote, I thought about the death of my brother David many years ago and the pain of seeing my mother in an unhappy relationship. I saw the millions of people who loved or supported my brother Barack, and in the process, in some weird way, I came to terms with the many things I’d shut out of my life, including the Obama name. So I completed my novel, a project I’d worked at on and off for almost 10 years.

Many people tried to convince me to first publish an autobiography. I considered that, but refused for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to be known as a writer, not for my relationship to the U.S. president. Secondly, I believed that Nairobi to Shenzhen could help everyone to better understand the mothers, children and particularly fathers who lost their way through drink and violence.

My next step is to publish an autobiography. I’ve just completed it, and it should be available soon to answer many questions that Nairobi to Shenzhen raises.

I wanted to express a story not just about the American dream, but about the dream of everyone everywhere to have the strength in hard times to pick oneself up and start again. Before arriving in China, I lost my job and didn’t know where my life was going, but decided to make my life one of music and service.

Finally, I realize that my life is about self-expression, whether in music, writing or calligraphy. I decided that I wanted to find a way to use these talents, even in my small ways, to help others.

Fifteen per cent of the proceeds from this book, Nairobi to Shenzhen, will go to help disadvantaged children in China and beyond. Seventeen million orphans live in China and many more elsewhere.

No one needs a university degree or a big income to help others in need. For seven years, I’ve done so in my own way and tried to make a difference.

Recently, a former-orphan student called me at home and told me: “Mark, now I’m at a kindergarten helping other children learn to play piano for free. Some of the children don’t want to play so I give them sweets. Now they love music.”

In China, there’s a saying: “Good deeds are like water falling on flat ground. They spread around.” Even if I sell just a few books that help fathers to spend more time with children or act to help people in need, I’ll be satisfied.

For a long time, I avoided the media, but I’ve decided to give a limited number of interviews because I want to tell my story, not have others tell it for me. Also I want to make a little difference in people’s lives by raising their awareness about domestic violence, the power of service and the freedom to walk one’s own path.

For more information: www.markobamandesandjo.com


When signing books, Mark's a main
attraction in a Hong Kong shopping mall.


'I wanted to be known as a writer, not
for my relationship with the U.S. president.'

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