PRESIDENT OBAMA RECOGNIZES THE WORK OF EMERGING LEADERS FOUNDATION.

On the 17^th of July 2018 the world congregated in Johannesburg to celebrate the 100^th birthday of an iconic man who conquered all odds to champion for the freedom of south Africa and the end of apartheid, a man who alongside other compatriots brought healing to the people of south Africa. Nelson Madiba Mandela.

And who better to give the keynote lecture on this day than President Barrack Obama? On the back drop of this celebration was the coming together of two hundred young African leaders from across the continent who are change agents in their communities, they had been brought together under the auspices of the Obama Foundation whose mission is to inspire, empower and connect people to change their world.

Among the two hundred young leaders sitting in south Africa to discuss the issues of our continent and possible interventions was the audacious young Kenyan, Caren Wakoli who is the founder and executive director of Emerging Leaders Foundation – a non-governmental organization based in Kenya that offers all round training and mentorship on leadership to the youth in Kenya.

It was both humbling and exciting to hear president Obama recognize our work on this important day, this level of affirmation acts to fan our passion to see to fruition the work of leadership transformation in Kenya and Africa.

In our six years of existence, we have reached over 7,000 young people, from different counties who are causing impact in different sectors – We have deliberately designed a leadership training and mentorship experience for individuals to impact their communities and for interns or entry-level workers to muster necessary skills to thrive in life. We equip the youth with knowledge and skills to enable them to constructively participate in governance and policy processes.