I come from Uganda -- from a farming community in the countryside where I learned what I know from the farmers I grew up with.

When I had the chance to complete my education in agricultural science, the hardest decision I had to make was whether to find a new job or return to my local community and teach them a little bit of what I had learned.

More than anything else, I wanted to see improvement in the livelihoods of the farmers that helped me become the agricultural scientist, pastor, and mentor that I am today. So I returned home to the Arua district in Uganda, and spent years working to pass on the knowledge and skills I had gained.

My passion is to help bring solutions to the country, and continent, where I grew up. That's how so many of my fellow Africans who are part of the President's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) feel too.

And that's why I'm so excited to introduce President Obama to my YALI fellows, and to you, at a town hall today.

You can tune in at 3:20 pm ET to watch live here.

As President Obama knows, the African continent is not only in need of transformational leaders, but leaders who will make the deliberate effort to inspire those they lead to take up the mantle -- particularly young leaders, who are looking for seasoned role models to emulate.

Thanks to President Obama and the legacy he leaves with YALI, so many of us our are well-poised to do just that.

So please join us at the town hall today at 3:20 pm ET to hear President Obama's answers to our questions about the future of young leaders in Africa and around the world.

Thanks for listening to my story,

Emmanuel

Emmanuel Odama
Arua District, Uganda

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