William Kamkwamba

27Jul07

It was shortly after this year’s TEDGlobal Conference that I heard about William Kamkwamba.  To quote from the Sydney Morning Herald,

William Kamkwamba, a 19-year-old high school student, first saw the internet at a TEDGlobal conference last month in Arusha, Tanzania. He was invited to the event – which aims to promote an exchange of ideas in the fields of technology, entertainment and design – after Malawi’s Daily Times newspaper covered his efforts to generate electricity for his parents’ farm by building a windmill of his own design.
The windmill is remarkable because Kamkwamba left school at 14 as his family was unable to pay the school fees. Armed only with his intelligence, a book on electricity, some plastic piping and found objects, Kamkwamba built his first windmill, which generated enough power to run a light in his room.

William now has a blog where you can keep track of his endeavors.   He is a truly remarkable young man and an inspiration to others.  We wish him the best and we’re confident he has a great future ahead of him. 

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