As a young boy, William Kamkwamba read about windmills and
dreamed of building one that would bring electricity and water
to his village in Malawi, a country withered by drought and
hunger. In 2002, when his country was stricken with a famine,
William's family's farm was devastated and his parents were left
destitute. With nothing more than a fistful of cornmeal in his
stomach and his own determination, William used scrap metal,
tractor parts, and bicycle halves, to forge a crude yet operable
windmill, an unlikely contraption complete with homemade
switches and a circuit break made from nails and wire.
Eventually it powered four lights. In time, a second machine
turned a water pump that could battle the drought and famine
that loomed with every season. Soon, news of William's magetsi a
mphepo—his "electric wind"—spread beyond the borders of his home
and he became an inspiration around the world. Here is the
remarkable story about human inventiveness and its power to
overcome crippling adversity. The Boy Who H