The Kid Who Harnessed the Wind (The True Story of William Kamkwamba)

When William Kamkwamba was fourteen years old, a terrible drought and famine hit his village in Malawi. His family could no longer afford to send him to school, but William refused to stop learning. In an old library book, he discovered how wind could be used to create electricity. Using scraps of metal, bicycle parts, and pieces he found around his village, William built a windmill that could power his family’s home. His invention would eventually inspire people around the world and even become a bestselling book and a Netflix movie. This is the true story of William Kamkwamba, the boy who harnessed the wind.

SOURCE LIST:

1. William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Primary source for William’s childhood in Wimbe, Malawi; his family and life on their farm; the drought and famine; his family’s inability to afford his school fees; his visits to the library; discovering books about science and electricity; his experiments with electrical equipment; and the process of designing and building his first windmill from salvaged materials.
2. William Kamkwamba, TEDGlobal, 2007. Source for William’s firsthand account of leaving school because his family could not afford the fees; teaching himself from books at the library; discovering how windmills could generate electricity; gathering discarded materials; building his windmill; and bringing electricity to his family’s home.
3. William Kamkwamba, TED, “How I Harnessed the Wind,” 2009. Source for William’s description of the famine in Malawi; his determination to continue learning after leaving school; finding the book Using Energy; constructing his windmill from scrap materials and bicycle parts; the reaction of people in his village; and how his project eventually attracted wider attention.
4. The Moving Windmills Project / William Kamkwamba. Source for William’s biography and the continued impact of his work in Malawi, including his later education, community development efforts, and projects designed to improve access to education, technology, clean water, and sustainable resources.
5. Dartmouth College. Source for William’s education following the international attention generated by his windmill; his studies at African Leadership Academy and Dartmouth College; and his continued work as an inventor, author, and advocate for education and development.
6. Netflix, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019). Source for information about the film adaptation of William’s story, directed by and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, and the story’s expansion from William’s memoir to an international feature film.