The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Kamkwamba, William and Bryan Mealer. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. 2009. 273p. ISBN 0-06-173032-7. Available at B KAM on the library shelves.

Located in the southeastern part of Africa, Malawi is a relatively poor country. William Kamkwamba’s parents were poor farmers who struggled to make ends meet, but when a famine struck their country they could no longer afford to send William to school. Always eager to learn, William decided to go to the local library instead. There he read a book that changed his life. Titled Using Energy, this book gave William a great idea: Why not build a wind generator to create electricity for his house?

Working hard and scrounging parts throughout the area, William was able in 2002 to erect his own power-generating windmill, and suddenly his family was the only one in the village to have electric light at night. With this plentiful power William could recharge phones and radios, and started making money. Using the same principles, he build a water pump for his mother so she wouldn’t have to make the long round trip every day carrying cans of water.

Though his neighbors all thought he was crazy, William’s dedication and drive to succeed helped him earn international fame through a TED talk and scholarship opportunities to study, first in Malawi, then at Dartmouth College. It also improved the lives of his village’s residents, and proved that it is possible to find solutions to problems that appear intractable.