The Inspirational Story Of A Malawian Teen Who Powered His Village
WILLIAM KAMKWAMBA – This Malawian teen taught himself how to build a windmill from junk from reading books in the library.
William was just a simple farmer. He never saw a computer in his life, but, his inventions made the lives of his village people better.
After he built the first one, he went on to build a second, much larger one. He used this to power irrigation pumps that allowed his village people easy access to much-needed water.
William Kamkwamba was born in Dowa, Malawi. He grew up on his family farm in Masitala Village, Wimbe.
Due to a devastating famine in 2001, he was unable to continue pay for the $80 annual school fees due to a lack of funds. He was then forced to drop out of school for five years.
However, this did not stop William’s drive to learn. He started borrowing books from a small community library close to his former grade school.
According to an article by Urban Intellectuals, he borrowed an 8th-grade American textbook called “Using Energy”. It featured a windmill as its cover.
By that time, he had decided to erect a windmill to power his family’s home and remove the need for kerosene. Using kerosene only provided little light after dark, and it was very expensive.
His first prototype was made up of a radio motor, a broken bicycle, tractor fan blade, a shock absorber, and blue gum trees. He hooked up his prototype to a car battery for storage and powered four light bulbs.
His system even had light switches and a circuit breaker made from nails, wires, and magnets. He later extended the windmill to 12 meters to get better winds above the trees.
He then added another windmill that was used to power an irrigation pump. This led to his village having faster means of irrigation.
News of his invention spread like wildfire and caught the attention of some of the most esteemed inventors and thinkers on the planet.
They all pitched in and supported his education and has now graduated from Dartmouth College back in 2014. Some of his latest projects included:
- Clean water stations
- Malaria Prevention Initiatives
- Solar Power
- Deepwater well with solar-powered pumps
- Drip irrigation system
Like this article? READ ALSO: Filipino IT Expert’s ‘ISDApp’ Wins NASA Space Challenge
