NEW YORK: US First Lady Melania Trump on Wednesday announced that she would visit Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt on her first major international solo trip to promote child welfare and education. Trump, 48, made the announcement at a reception welcoming spouses of visiting heads of state and other foreign delegations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. "October 1 will mark the first day of my solo visit to four beautiful and very different countries in Africa: Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt," she said. Trump said all those countries had worked alongside USAID in making progress towards overcoming some of their biggest challenges. "I am so proud of the work this administration is doing through USAID and others, and look forward to the opportunity to take the message of my ´Be Best´ campaign to many of the countries and children throughout Africa," she added. The US first lady rolled out her signature awareness campaign to help children earlier this year. The mother of one and Slovenian-born former model has previously travelled alone to Canada and joined her husband on several foreign visits. Her trip to Africa will focus on good-deed projects. The US president has yet to travel to Africa since taking office, and sailed into controversy at the start of the year for allegedly disparaging "shithole" countries on the continent. Earlier on Wednesday, Donald Trump trailed his wife´s announcement, saying "we both love Africa. Africa is so beautiful."<doc-sep>(CNN) — First lady Melania Trump has outlined her first major solo trip abroad. During remarks at a reception for United Nations General Assembly leader spouses in Manhattan Wednesday morning, Trump announced she will visit Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt during her upcoming trip to Africa. Trump, who as first lady has previously only traveled overseas while accompanying her husband, departs for her first-ever trip to the region on Monday, October 1st. Trump revealed that she will partner closely on this trip with the United States Agency for International Development. “There are many programs across the country that are doing great things for children, and I believe we can replicate many of these programs overseas,” said Trump in her remarks on Wednesday. “This is why I am pleased to be working closely with USAID as I prepare for my first major International trip to Africa. By working with developing countries around the world to help them with their journey to self-reliance, USAID’s work embodies much of what ‘Be Best’ stands for.” Although Trump unveiled ‘Be Best’ in May as her primary platform to help children, she has yet to take a significant trip such as this one to promote her cause, nor has she specifically outlined the ways she intends to impact policy with the initiative. However, on Wednesday Trump showcased a video of her efforts thus far and spoke about objectives. “When I launched ‘Be Best,’ it was with the goal of combating some of the issues that children face today by shining a spotlight on successful programs and organizations that teach children the tools and skills needed for emotional, social and physical well-being,” Trump said. “Since the launch, I have had the opportunity to meet children all over the world, with the goal of talking to them about the importance of healthy living and responsible habits.” Why Africa? Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s communications director, told CNN the first lady chose Africa for her first major solo excursion long before details and dates were even in the proposal stage. “Mrs. Trump has always envisioned her first international trip would be Africa,” said Grisham, not counting a day trip Trump made to Toronto, Canada, last September. “So, we’ve ‘known’ that we would be doing this since the very beginning.” Last month in a statement, Trump said, “I am excited to educate myself on the issues facing children throughout the continent, while also learning about (Africa’s) rich culture and history.” Grisham says general planning for the trip started in February of this year, while in-depth event and logistics work for the first lady’s travel began in earnest this summer. Asked why October felt like the right time to go abroad, Grisham said that a variety of factors, including Trump’s schedule as “both first lady of the United States and as a parent,” were involved in selecting the dates and duration of her itinerary. As for details on Trump’s agenda while in Africa, Grisham told CNN: “This is a diplomatic and humanitarian visit, which will include stops focusing on healthcare, education, conservation and tourism. As with all that the first lady does, the well-being of children will be a focus at most of the stops.” In Ghana, Trump said today she will tout USAID’s healthcare programs in that country. “(USAID is) supporting efforts to expand the coverage and quality of health care for mothers and newborns and educating women and young children about the importance of proper nutrition.” Likewise in Malawi and Kenya, the first lady noted she intends to highlight USAID and its efforts in education and skill development, as well as conservation and disease prevention. In Egypt, Trump said she will focus on tourism. “I know that through USAID, we have worked with the people of Egypt to promote an environment in which all groups of society – including women and religious minorities – can lead productive and healthy lives,” she said. First ladies in Africa Africa is a continent also favored by Trump’s most recent predecessors, first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, all of whom visited several countries there solo during their tenures. Obama chose Africa, specifically Botswana and South Africa, for her second major solo trip abroad in 2011 (her first was to Mexico.) Bush made five solo visits to Africa while first lady, stopping in a total of 15 countries on those trips. And Clinton, who was the first sitting first lady to undertake a solo tour of Africa, spent two weeks in sub-Saharan Africa in 1997 on a goodwill tour to Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uganda and Eritrea. “It’s very important that a first lady be a global presence, while her role is mostly symbolic, most modern first ladies have proven they can make real change and have a genuine impact on the policies they choose to champion,” said Kate Andersen Brower, a CNN contributor and author of “First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies.” “I think this upcoming trip to Africa sends a strong message that the US is engaged in the region and helps combat the statements reportedly made by her husband about the continent,” Brower said. Mending fences? In January, CNN reported President Donald Trump, speaking behind closed doors about illegal immigration, decried “shithole countries,” with an implication towards Africa. Anita McBride, who was chief of staff for Laura Bush and traveled to more than 60 countries with the former first lady during her four years on staff, said Trump has an opportunity to help mend a relationship with Africa that might be fractured because of her husband’s remarks. “To the extent that she is able to help soften that blow for the agency as well as for the country, that would be a helpful objective,” said McBride. “Demonstrating how much USAID and the countries it helps are accomplishing could go a long way, and maybe she is going with the additional intention of mending feelings.”<doc-sep>Melania Trump says she'll promote child welfare in Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt in October on her first extended solo international mission. The first lady discussed her plans Wednesday at a reception for the spouses of foreign leaders and others participating in the annual U.N. General Assembly. "Oct. 1 will mark the first day of my solo visit to four beautiful and very different countries in Africa," Mrs. Trump said during brief remarks to several dozen guests in a reception room in a building near U.N. headquarters. She said she looks forward to spreading the message of her "Be Best" child-welfare initiative throughout Africa. She launched the campaign earlier this year to focus on overall child well-being, with an emphasis on opioid addiction and online behavior. The countries on her itinerary have worked closely with the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is helping organize the trip. "Whether it is education, drug addiction, hunger, online safety or bullying, poverty or disease, it is too often children who are hit first, and hardest, across the globe," Mrs. Trump said. "Each of us hails from a country with its own unique challenges, but I know in my heart we are united by our commitment to raising the next generation to be happy, healthy and morally responsible adults." She offered no details on her activities in each country, and did not say when she would be returning to Washington. The first ladies of Ghana, Malawi and Kenya attended the event and Mrs. Trump recognized each one individually. The first lady of Kenya accompanied her husband, President Uhuru Kenyatta, to the White House in August, and she and Mrs. Trump were able to meet separately from their spouses. Karen Pence, the wife of Vice President Mike Pence, also attended the reception. Mrs. Trump will travel next month without President Donald Trump, who raised ire across Africa this year after his private complaint about the continent's "s-hole countries" was leaked to journalists. He said earlier Wednesday that he and his wife "love Africa." Trump later offered a partial denial in public but privately defended his remarks, The Associated Press reported in January. Trump also didn't deny the comment when he was asked about it while hosting Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the White House in April. While the first lady tours the vast African continent, the president is expected to be in the midst of aggressive campaigning for November elections in which his Republican Party's control of both houses of Congress is at stake. The first lady's only other solo international foray was a September 2017 day trip to Toronto to join Britain's Prince Harry at an athletic competition he founded for wounded service members and veterans, a constituency both the president and Mrs. Trump say they value. She has accompanied the president to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Brussels, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Finland for a July summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. She did not travel with him to Singapore in June for a similar meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un due to medical restrictions on her travel following kidney surgery in mid-May.<doc-sep>#BeGone: Melania Trump is bringing her ‘Be Best’ foolishness to Africa The first lady announced Wednesday that she plans to visit Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt next week. U.S. first lady Melania Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Melania Trump is bringing her #BeBest foolishness to Africa, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Wednesday, the first lady announced that she would be visiting Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt next week, kicking off her first major international solo trip to promote child welfare and education. While her need to get as far away from her husband as possible is understandable, one can’t help but feel sympathy for the four African nations that will have to smile politely while she stiffly reads from cue cards during her appearances. READ MORE: WATCH: See what Black folks have to say about the sexual allegations against Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh Trump, 48, made the announcement at a reception welcoming spouses of visiting heads of state and other foreign delegations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Thank you to all who attended my #UNGA reception today! Looking forward to working with @USAID to take my campaign #BeBest to Africa next week. Together, we can do great things on behalf of the next generation. pic.twitter.com/OG99wwP5Aj — Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) September 26, 2018 “October 1 will mark the first day of my solo visit to four beautiful and very different countries in Africa: Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt,” she said. She explained that those countries had worked alongside the US Agency for International Development, with whom she has been organizing her trip, and that they were all committed in making “great progress in overcoming some of their biggest challenges.” But one can’t help but wonder how the organizers – in Kenya specifically – really feel about her impending arrival, given that her family has spent the last several years directly attacking the legacy of one of their most popular countrymen, Former President Barack Obama. READ MORE: Issa Rae claps back when Melania Trump’s team says FLOTUS likes ‘Insecure’ First Lady Melania Trump set to travel to Africa on her first major solo trip pic.twitter.com/isjiRpQxi8 — Fox & Friends First (@FoxFriendsFirst) September 27, 2018 Trump also gushed about how excited she is to take her grammatically incorrect “Be Best,” initiative to the continent, which she set up with the goal of focusing on children’s well-being, as well as social media use and opioid abuse. “I am so proud of the work this administration is doing through USAID and others, and look forward to the opportunity to take the message of my Be Best campaign to many of the countries and children throughout Africa,” she added. “Whether it is education, drug addiction, hunger, online safety or bullying, poverty or disease, it is too often children who are hit first and hardest across the globe.” So basically, the woman married to one of the world’s most vocal bullies, wants to hop on a plane just so she can tell Black nations not to act exactly like him. Got it. The irony runs deep on this one fam. Super deep. And what’s worse is, the first ladies of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi were all obligated to attend this sham of a reception, as did the wives of US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli prime minister, was also there. They all watched in thinly veiled disdain as Trump thanked the first ladies in attendance and told them how much she was looking forward to visiting their countries. But what she didn’t share is exactly how long she was planning to stay, further fueling the speculation that our girl Melania is lowkey trying to run away from home and into the arms of Black women who have too much home training (and political savvy) to tell her to “GTFOH.” But we can all imagine what their faces will look like the whole time she’s there. READ MORE: “Each of us hails from a country with its own unique challenges, but I know in my heart we are united by our commitment to raising the next generation to be happy, healthy and morally responsible adults,” Trump concluded. That same day Donald Trump backed up his wife’s announcement, saying “we both love Africa. Africa is so beautiful.” And by “love” he means: he has yet to travel there while in office, and started off 2018 by allegedly disparaging “sh**hole” countries on the continent. https://twitter.com/Toure/status/1044954033428066305 I wonder if Melania will pick up Obama's birth certificate in Kenya? https://t.co/zMrn56M6to — Terrell Jermaine Starr (@Russian_Starr) September 26, 2018 Follow writer Blue Telusma on Instagram at @bluecentric Share<doc-sep>
First lady Melania Trump is getting out of Dodge. She's leaving Washington and her husband, President Donald Trump, behind to deal with multiple crises while she heads to Africa next week for a four-country tour. Heads up, Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt: The first lady is headed your way. Trump announced at the United Nations Wednesday that her first solo trip abroad will begin next week when she heads to Africa to check out how officials in four countries on the continent deal with issues confronting children. "October 1 will mark the first day of my solo visit to four beautiful and very different countries in Africa – Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt – all of which have worked alongside (U.S. Agency for International Development) and our partners to make great progress in overcoming some of their biggest challenges," Trump said. The first lady spoke at a reception she hosted for the spouses of visiting heads of state, heads of foreign delegations, Trump administration officials and representatives from USAID in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting, which she attended with the president. Trump announced Aug. 20 that she was planning to make Africa the destination of her first solo international trip as first lady. She connected the trip's mission to her Be Best campaign to shine her spotlight on successful initiatives and organizations that help improve children's emotional, social and physical well-being. She said she will focus on related issues in each African country, including healthcare for mothers and newborns, nutrition for women and children, early-childhood education, wildlife conservation, HIV prevention, tourism and conservation. "Whether it is education, drug addiction, hunger, online safety or bullying, poverty or disease, it is too often children who are hit first, and hardest, across the globe," she said according to the White House transcript of her speech. "Each of us hails from a country with its own unique challenges, but I know in my heart we are united by our commitment to raising the next generation to be happy, healthy and morally responsible adults." Although she announced her trip in August, Trump has said nothing about it since, as is standard for the low-key first lady. She rarely gives speeches and hasn't talked to reporters on the record since the Trump administration took office. It is not clear how long her trip will last. Her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, has not disclosed details of her itinerary yet but did say it would take place during the first week of October. Meanwhile, the president and his administration are dealing with a number of troubles, including a growing trade war with China and the increasingly messy confirmation hearings for his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, who is fighting allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to his high school and college years. The first lady has been in New York since Tuesday when she accompanied her husband to the UN for the General Assembly meeting.