Check out this book (or at least watch a few videos)

Read this book

I started reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind a week ago and it was such an engaging book that I could have finished it in a day if I hadn’t kept distracting myself with things like cleaning and yoga and wandering around Boston.

I first heard about William Kamkwamba and his windmill when Dan and I were in South Africa last fall (their spring). Written with Bryan Mealer, the book relates his experiences growing up in rural Malawi and his vision for bringing electricity to his family despite incredible challenges, including poverty, famine, dropping out of school, and suspicion from the community.

He also takes the time to explain what he learns about switches, transistors, batteries, circuits, and currents in a way that people with limited knowledge of electricity can understand, and it was fascinating and inspiring to see how he applied his insights to his daily life. Of course, it wasn’t easy – he often couldn’t afford the “proper” parts and had to improvise with whatever scraps he could get his hands on – but I was very impressed by how nimble and innovative (not to mention stubborn) he was, and how his close friends and family supported his work.

William Kamkwamba’s experiences demonstrate how transformative education can be. Even if it’s informal and all someone has is a few books and an encouraging family, learning can change people’s lives. As a fan from half-way around the world, it’s heartening to see that he’s continuing to educate himself while bringing more opportunities to his hometown. I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes next.

If you’d like to learn more about William Kamkwamba, check out this video from TED…

…and this short documentary on YouTube.

Tags: Africa, Books, Boston, Education, Energy, Malawi, South Africa, TED