The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind
 Windmills created by Malawi teen, William Kamkwamba, whose efforts brought electricity and clean water to his 60-family village. Photo: Wired.com |
Winds of change have come to a rural African village, and it's all thanks to the ambitions a teenage boy. It's just the kind of inspirational story I needed to hear today. Have you heard of William Kamkwamba, the boy who harnessed the wind?
He was just fourteen when he set out to build a windmill. He'd seen one on the cover of a library book, and wanted to power a light bulb so he could stay up past sunset to read. Like most in his village of Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa, his family couldn't afford school tuition much less expensive kerosene.
But the wind was free. And so was his incredible ingenuity. So he recreated what he saw in the book with whatever rusty old bicycle parts and bathhouse pipes he could find.
At first he faced ridicule from the locals who called him crazy, and worse, blamed his windmill witchcraft for blowing away the rain clouds during drought. But not since he proved he could harness the wind...
His story was published in the Malawi Daily Mail, which in turn got the attention of Technology Entertainment and Design (TED Global). Venture capitalists stepped forward to fund his education and donate to the project. Now the infrastructure he started provides the village with clean water and light.
Now twenty-two, Kamkwamba is completing a university education and plans to teach other villagers how to build windmills. You can read more about his story and the upcoming documentary of his achievements on Wired and you can follow his personal blog here. He writes today that he's excited to be a guest on The Daily Show tomorrow. I, for one, will be tuned in.
Posted by TheWordWire at 10/6/2009 8:12 PM 
Categories: Do-Goodery
Tags: Malawi William Kamkwamba windmill
Categories: Do-Goodery
Tags: Malawi William Kamkwamba windmill
And according to my 1st grader- who is an expert in all things Ben Franklin these days- we can thank our founding father for "inventing" libraries. I wonder how many lives have been changed by discoveries that were made in the library? What a beautiful story. I'll certainly be tuned in tonight.
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