Melania Trump Begins Africa Tour By Visiting Ghana, Says Slavery Was "A Tragedy"

The United States first lady, Melania Trump, has started off her solo trip by visiting Ghana. She started by visiting a hospital in Accra, Ghana, and she has also visited a slave fort.

Her Africa tour is said to be focused on promoting health and education. She will visit three other countries, which she described as "different and beautiful". These are Kenya, Egypt and Malawi. The public reception towards Mrs Trump has been muted and low key, with others comparing it to the Obama visit in 2009.

However, people are following the tour to see if this will mend an uneasy relationship between Africa and America, after Trump referred to African countries as "shithole" countries.

When Mrs Trump visited Ridge Hospital in Accra alongside Ghana's first lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo, she observed babies being weighed as part of a project aimed at promoting nutrition in children, which is supported by funding from the US government's foreign aid organisation, USAid. She aims to promote her Be Best initiative, aimed at tackling issues such as cyberbulling, while boosting a healthy living in the process.

"She is interested in Africa because she has never been before and knows that each country will have its own unique history and culture." Stephanie Grisham, her communications director, said.

The second day of her Africa tour in Ghana saw her visiting a former slave port. And well, she had some beautiful and touching words to append to her visit. Trump said she "will never forget" her visit, calling it "very emotional" and "really something that people should see and experience". She added that "what happened so many years ago is really a tragedy".

The Slave Trade was such a dark epoch in Africa's history that saw millions of black Africans being stripped of their humanity and dignity, lose lives and living in squalid conditions. People were kept naked and chained in the 17th Century Cape Coast Castle, waiting to be shipped as slaves. Untold numbers of people were kept in dark dungeons before being shipped overseas. The castle is now on the Unesco World Heritage List.

Cape Coast Castle in Ghana was a major slave trade outpost on the Atlantic slave trading route. Melania Trump paid a courtesy visit to a local traditional ruler, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II. She met him in the Obama Hall, named after Barack Obama. Obama toured the castle with his family in 2009 and said it was a reminder of "the capacity of human beings to commit great evil".

There is no much buzz around Melania's Trump's visit. "The interest is very, very muted and subdued. There are a lot of people [in Ghana] who are extremely indifferent about this visit," political commentator Etse Sikanku told AFP. Trump's presidency has been controversial and divisive, and it is yet to be seen whether his wife's visit will restore the modicum of normalcy that was there before.

President Trump has not yet set foot on the African continent since assuming power. However, he has welcomed three African presidents to the White House, from Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria.