Harnessing the Wind (William Kamkwamba) (original post 10/18/09)

We Americans don't question our electricity, cell phones, flush toilets, and other "basics". However, in many parts of the world these things are considered luxuries. For one family in one village in Malawi (Eastern Africa) electricity is the norm. At the age of 14 William Kamkwamba was forced to drop out of school. To keep himself busy he went to the village library where he found books on physics, specifically windmills. He couldn't read English, but he looked at the diagrams and built his family a windmill using bicycle parts and other bits that were lying around the village! This is an amazing story of ingenuity, perseverance, and success.

Check out the video (5 minutes) of his interview on Good Morning America and on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show. They will make your day! You may also read an interview with the librarian at William's library. And... yeah for libraries!