William Kamkwamba provided his fellow villagers with electricity
"Everyone laughed at me when I said I was going to build a windmill. They thought I had gone mad," Kamkwamba said. Consulting the image in the book, the teenager found suitable parts at dumps, including parts from motorcycles, tractors, used pipes and old car batteries. Kamkwamba made a screwdriver from a nail attached to a corncob.
It took him about three months to build the first wind generator. Then he built four more units, the tallest of which is 11 meters high. The energy obtained from the units is used to supply electricity to the settlement where Kamkwamba lives, and the windmills also help pump water.
Currently, 22-year-old William Kamkwamba is studying at the African Leadership Academy, an elite school in South Africa. His tuition is paid for by sponsors.
As Lenta.ru notes, the Malawian's wind turbines have attracted the attention of many people around the world. For example, former US Vice President Al Gore, known for his advocacy of clean energy sources, expressed his approval. Former Associated Press correspondent in Africa Bryan Mealer wrote a book about Kamkwamba titled "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind," which was published in the United States in late September 2009.