A warm embrace as then Senator Barack Obama visited his grandmother.
The year was 2006 and the rising star in democratic politics spoke of Kenya as a special place in his heart.
(SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA WHEN HE WAS A SENATOR IN 2006, SAYING:
"It is wonderful to be home."
When Obama was elected President hopes ran high that this "son of Africa" would deliver to the continent.
But even in Senegal, one of the countries Obama has visited, there is disappointment.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) IBRAHIMA DIA, DAKAR RESIDENT, SAYING:
" We thought since he was the black president, Africa would benefit, but there you have it, actually it is hopelessness."
In fact, U.S. trade in Africa has actually fallen off in recent years, to about $60 billion in 2013. That is far eclipsed by China whose $170 billion is a huge increase from $10 billion in 2000, according to Brookings Institution.
Stephan Hayes of the Corporate Council on Afr
