This is the first instalment in the series called “Unsung Heroes.” In this series we celebrate people who, in their own corners of the world, have made life better for other people. Today’s instalment shares William Kamkwamba’ story.
I have often wondered why stories of greatness come from hardship. Is this the price to pay for making things better?
A while ago, a good friend introduced me to a quote by Viktor Frankl who said, “What is to give light must endure burning”.
An incredible individual who embodies this quote is William Kwamkwamba. At the tender age of 14, William took advantage of his dire situation in a small village, to build something that would draw a lot of attention to his village.
William was born August 5, 1987, in Malawi. Like most people in his village, his family of nine subsisted on the meager crops they could grow. They lived without the luxuries considered necessities by many of us, such as electricity or running water.
Their situation became dire when, in 2002, Malawi experienced the worst famine in 50 years. Struggling to survive, 14-year-old William was forced to drop out of school because his family could not afford the $80-a-year tuition.” Source
With the extra time at his disposal, William built his first windmill, taking inspiration and concepts from pictorial instructions in a book from a local library, since he could not read fluently. And because he did not have material and tools, he visited a local scrap yard and used whatever he could find to build his windmill. The Windmill was able to give power to 4 light bulbs and radio for his family and has since been modified and improved.
2007, During a Ted conference at age 19, William Kwamkwamba said, “After I dropped out of school, I went to a library and got a book titled ‘Using Energy’ and I got information about windmills, and I tried and I did it!”
Kamkwamba was profiled in the Wall Street Journal for his invention. And the book titled “The Boy who harnessed the wind” was said to be part of the top 10 selling books on Amazon.com in 2009. An organisation called Moving Windmills now exists, and its motto is, “African Solutions for African Problems,” which is led by William and many others.
The thoughts that came to mind the first time I discovered this story were: “what are you waiting for? Get up, do what you can with what you have.”
originally written: 20 March 2010
Thanks for sharing this inspirational story.
In Lagos where I grew up, many local markets are now being modernized in light of the ‘Lagos-megacity’ project. It makes me weep(tears of sorrow) that each one of the wonderful markets are being transformed into US style mall shopping facades.
Why can we not modernize them in ‘our’ way, keeping the traditional format of trading but tidying up the infrastructure??
Life is fluid and dreamlike. One moment things seem great and the next they do not, and I’m learning that the way to keep happy is to not fluctuate with those waves but stay calm and balanced both in sorrow and in joy. And learning that does feel wonderful.
Frankl’s quote resonates well.