[ASU] FW: William Kambwamba

[Antwi-Boasiako, Kingsley]

________________________________________
From: Moody, Scott
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 7:34 PM
To: African Student Union
Subject: William Kambwamba

I hope that all of the members of African Student Union will be able to attend what will be a memorable talk next week

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

William Kamkwamba is the author of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope, the story of how he achieved his dream of bringing electricity, light, and the promise of a better life to his family and his Malawi village. The book was a New York Times best-seller, a remarkable success story about the power of human ingenuity in the face of crippling odds. Kamkwamba’s talk will inspire anyone who doubts the power of one individual to change the world.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012, 7:30 PM
Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium

Admission to this lecture is free
Seating is limited, doors open at 6:30 PM.

Scott M. Moody, Ph.D.
Chair of the Kennedy Lecture Committee
Associate Professor of Evolutionary and Organismic  Biology
Ohio Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies
Ohio University Athens

http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/

The boy who harnessed the wind

William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger, and a place where hope and opportunity were hard to find. But William had read about windmills in a book called Using Energy, and he dreamed of building one that would bring electricity and water to his village and change his life and the lives of those around him. His neighbors may have mocked him and called him misala—crazy—but William was determined to show them what a little grit and ingenuity could do.

Enchanted by the workings of electricity as a boy, William had a goal to study science in Malawi's top boarding schools. But in 2002, his country was stricken with a famine that left his family's farm devastated and his parents destitute. Unable to pay the eighty-dollar-a-year tuition for his education, William was forced to drop out and help his family forage for food as thousands across the country starved and died.

Yet William refused to let go of his dreams. With nothing more than a fistful of cornmeal in his stomach, a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks, and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to bring his family a set of luxuries that only two percent of Malawians could afford and what the West considers a necessity—electricity and running water. Using scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves, William forged a crude yet operable windmill, an unlikely contraption and small miracle that eventually powered four lights, complete with homemade switches and a circuit breaker made from nails and wire. A second machine turned a water pump that could battle the drought and famine that loomed with every season.

Soon, news of William's magetsi a mphepo—his "electric wind"—spread beyond the borders of his home, and the boy who was once called crazy became an inspiration to those around the world.

Here is the remarkable story about human inventiveness and its power to overcome crippling adversity. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind will inspire anyone who doubts the power of one individual's ability to change his community and better the lives of those around him.