Monday, September 28, 2009

Inspiration on a Monday

Everyone told him he was crazy.

But William Kamkwamba had a dream. He believed he could make a difference for his family and his village.

At 14 he dropped out of school because his parents couldn't afford the $80/year fee. But he still loved to learn. He borrowed books from the local library and just from the pictures (he couldn't read English!) taught himself how to build a windmill. Using scraps from the village - a tractor fan, a discarded bicycle wheel - he built a windmill that powered a radio and a light bulb.

He now has four windmills that provide electricity for families and pump water to irrigate their fields. His memoir is being published this fall.

Watch this and be inspired.


12 comments:

Susan R. Mills said...

That's a great story! Thanks for sharing.

Tamara Hart Heiner said...

wow! what an awesome awesome story! I don't know how he managed to do that!

lisa and laura said...

Amazing! Now that is a story.

Sarah Laurenson said...

I can't wait to see what he does with more knowledge. Sometimes though, it's better to not know the shape of the box. Thinking outside of it comes much easier then.

Kelly Polark said...

WOW!That is inspiring!

Yat-Yee said...

How amazing is that!? Let's hear it for Hope and perseverance!

The pale observer said...

This comes from my side of the world sort of - and so I feel more affiliation with William! I can imagine what a hero he is!!! Africa needs millions more like him!!!

Thanks for sharing :)

Tess said...

We all need inspiration like this - it makes our challenges seem so insignificant. Thanks for sharing.

storyqueen said...

I love stories like these.

Thanks for sharing.

Shelley

Rena Jones said...

That's great!

PJ Hoover said...

I love stories on inspiration. Thank you for posting it!

Elana Johnson said...

Very inspiring.

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