"The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind"

"The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind" by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer is William's story about growing up in Malawi where people believe in magic but science is a mystery.

William's story makes me realize how easy my life has been.  This book is more than just a story about his accomplishments - It's the story of his and his family's survival during a major drought that caused so many deaths.  It's also the story of how that drought inspired him to look for answers to help himself and his family and his neighbors.

William's village went to bed when it got dark -- at 7:00 p.m. -- because they had no electricity in their homes.  William's schooling was limited because his parents did not have the money to pay his school fees.  Did that stop him learning?  No -- He had a dream to bring electricity and running water to his family.  When he couldn't attend school, he found a local library and taught himself through studying books even though he had to struggle at times with the English they were written in.  His desire motivated him to work hard to learn more.  He used what he could scavenge from a junk yard and scraps around him and eventually he did build a rudimentary windmill and bring electricity first to his room then to his family's home.  He didn't let people laughing at him or calling him crazy to stop him.

What he accomplished for himself was even more -- As word of what he had done spread and people stopped by to see his windmill, he attracted the attention of individuals who could not only offer him a chance to further his schooling but also help him find the resources financially to bring even more improvements to his family, his neighbors, his village.  At the time this book was written, he was at a boarding school but he had also traveled to deliver a TED talk and to the U.S. to see windmill farms firsthand.

What really struck me as I finished reading William's life story was how much he loves his family and his village.  Here is a boy from very humble beginnings who sleeps in a modest home where he can hear the termites chewing at night.  When he is sleeping in what he would probably consider luxury in a bed in the U.S., he misses the quiet and the night sounds of his home village.  He doesn't forget his roots and, when he has the opportunity and the financial resources, William returns to his village to bring better windmills and electricity, improved hygiene, and cleaner water that the village women can pump from the ground.  William is an amazing young man and knows the true meaning of what it is to care for and give back to others.  pazt