Who's William?

William Kamkwamba.


“William from Malawi, is a born inventor. When he was 14, he built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap, working from rough plans he found in a library book called Using Energy and modifying them to fit his needs. The windmill he built powers four lights and two radios in his family home.

After reading about Kamkwamba on Mike McKay's blog Hactivate (which picked up the story from a local Malawi newspaper), TEDGlobal Conference Director Emeka Okafor spent several weeks tracking him down at his home in Masitala Village, Wimbe, and invited him to attend TEDGlobal on a fellowship. Onstage, Kamkwamba talked about his invention and shared his dreams: to build a larger windmill to help with irrigation for his entire village, and to go back to school.



Following Kamkwamba's moving talk, there was an outpouring of support for him and his promising work. Members of the TED community got together to help him improve his power system (by incorporating solar energy), and further his education through school and mentorships. Subsequent projects have included clean water, malaria prevention, solar power and lighting for the six homes in his family compound; a deep-water well with a solar-powered pump for clean water; and a drip irrigation system. Kamkwamba himself returned to school, and is now attending the African Leadership Academy, a new pan-African prep school outside Johannesburg, South Africa.”  (TED Talk)



A library book.

That’s all it took.  In William’s story, it didn’t take millions of foreign dollars.  It didn’t take any foreign expertise.  All it took was a young man, an inquisitive mind, a library book, all driven by his desire to better his family’s life.



Can’t see the forest for the trees? 

As foreigners can we sometimes be so driven by our own solutions, desire to “help”; we miss one natural resource which may already exist in a developing country?

Its people.

William lives in Malawi.



Is there a William in Haiti?

If you have traveled to Haiti, have you ever met a William?
If you have traveled to Haiti, have you ever seen a “homemade” windmill?
If you have traveled to Haiti, what did you talk to the Haitians about?

Nourriture pour la pensée et de discussion?
Steve; Haiti.Today.Tomorrow.

(Kamkwamba's story is documented in his autobiography, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope. A  documentary about Kamkwamba, called William and the Windmill, won the Documentary Feature Grand Jury award at SXSW in 2013.)