video transcript

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) STORY: Students at Dakar's Martin Luther King Middle School on Thursday welcomed U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama. It was Michelle Obama's first visit to the country along with her husband U.S. president Barack Obama. Michelle Obama took the opportunity to extend her well-wishes and pay tribute to the ailing former South African President Nelson Mandela. Referring to the students as the next generation's leaders, Michelle Obama said: "If President Mandela could hold tight to his vision for his country's future during the 27 years he spent in prison, then surely you all can hold tight to your hopes for your own future." The 94-year old apartheid hero has been in the hospital for almost three weeks suffering from a recurring lung infection. His condition is said to have improved overnight but he is still critical. The President and First Lady will travel to South Africa next before wrapping up the journey in Tanzania.