First Lady Michelle Obama was up early Saturday morning to head out to the leeward coast and a visit to MA'O Farms.
The first lady was given a guided tour of part of the 25 acre MA'O Farms in Waianae. The farm includes a youth leadership training program and college and high school interns acted as her guides. There was a round table question and answer session following the tour and with other MA'O volunteers in attendance, Michelle Obama joined right in.
"I jumped at the opportunity to come and not just see for myself but also to allow the world to see what you're doing," Obama said.
Most of the students want to be involved in agriculture - but Derrick Parker is a UH music major and he gave a commanding performance for the first lady.
Waianae-born Kamuela Enos summed up the mission of Ma'o organic farms.
"Our ancestors were organic farmers. And this gives us a way to walk in their footsteps but still survive in the context in which we live. A market economy, a standards based education system," Enos says.
While the first lady applauded the work at the farm, she also emphasized the leadership skills that the young people are developing.
"It's one thing to farm and to talk and to eat and to grow and to connect, but the next step to change requires your preparation and going to school and understanding the subject and understanding how what you do connects not just to the rest of the nation, but the rest of the world," Obama said. "It is a responsibility that you all have to embrace, to just keep reaching back. But I think you all are doing that. So, just keep it up. Keep it up."
On Sunday, the first lady will host a luncheon for the spouses of dignitaries at Kualoa Ranch with products from MA'O farms.
