photo of William Kamkwamba on his windmill from his blog.I have written about William Kamkwamba before: Inspirational Engineer – Home Engineering: Windmill for Electricity. And along with the post, Make the World Better, donated to his cause. His new book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, is quite enjoyable and provides an interesting view of how he persevered. His talk of the famine, not being able to afford school and putting together a windmill using scrape parts and a few books from the library (donated by the American government – much better foreign aid than all the military weapons that are often counted as aid) is inspirational. And should help many sitting in luxury understand the privileged lives they lead.
“Using Energy, and this book has since changed my life… All I needed was a windmill, and then I could have lights. No more kerosene lamps that burned out eyes… I could stay awake at night reading instead of going to bed at seven with the rest of Malawi. But most important, a windmill could also rotate a pump for water and irrigation.” (page 158)
William set out to demonstrate his windmill for the first time to a skeptical crowd saying (page 193)
I like how the story shows how long, hard work, reading, experimenting and learning is what allowed William to success (page 194-5)
[to William’s father] “What an intelligent boy. Where did he get such ideas?”
“He’s been reading lots of books. Maybe from there?”
“They teach this in school?”
“He was forced to drop. He did this on his own.”
William is now attending the African Leadership Academy in South Africa, with an amazing group of classmates. See how you can support the Moving Windmills Projects.
Related: Teen’s DIY Energy Hacking Gives African Village New Hope – Make the World Better – William Kamkwamba on the Daily Show – What Kids can Learn – appropriate technology
What a great story! It reminds me of reading Henry Fords book. His first car was built with an engine that used an old smokestack off a steam tractor as the cylinder for the engine.
Where there is a will there is a way. It seems with modern technology we have become desensitized to invention and innovation.
Wow, that really is some kind of windmill! I just shows you what can be done with people who want to get up and do something for themselves.
At first I laughed when I saw the pictures but after reading the story, it was very interesting. Great story!
What an inspiration this young man is. It just goes to show people that with hard work and determination just about anything can be accomplished. This young boy should be applauded for what he has done to not only better his area but other areas in the world as well.
Wow what an inspiring story. The boy obviously has a creative mind and probably a heart of gold!
I find stories like this quite inspirational really. In the face of adversity, and oftentimes because of it, people are capable of quite a bit. Thanks for the link to the book, it’s now in my wish list.
William deserves much praise. I read about on BBC website – there was an article about him some time ago. I never realised he had written a book btw. Just goes to show what hard work and determination can bring. Sometimes I think we have it too easy. Heated homes, water to our homes (hot water), vehicles to take us from A to B, a whole host of communication and informatio channels (telephone, internet, satellite). Yet too many of us still complain why we ‘havent got this’ or ‘havent got that’. I’ve just gone made a purchase of the book – lets hope it gets here before the holidays.
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