The Story of William Kamkwamba

Journal article

Once known as the dark continent by Westerners who had no knowledge of it and saw it as obscure, Africa is still sometimes referred to as dark but for a different reason. According to The Economist in 2007,

Seen from space, Africa at night is largely unlit, as dark as all-but empty Siberia. With nearly 1 billion people, Africa accounts for over a sixth of the world's population, but generates only 4% of global electricity.

Various estimates state that between 2 percent and 8 percent of the population of Malawi have electricity at home. Recently I read the book, The Boy who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. William Kamkwamba lived in a village in Malawi at a time when the country was suffering from drought and famine; he was forced to leave school aged fourteen because his family could not afford the fees and he was needed to work on the farm. Like most Malawians he had to go to sleep at about 7.00 pm because there was no light in the house. He was curious about how things worked and wanted to improve life for his family. He began by taking broken radios apart to discover how they worked; he found a bicycle dynamo and worked out how the light came on and ultimately put his mind to how he could create his own electricity.

Authors: Mabro, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
• Journal: Oxford Energy Forum
• Volume: 79
• Pages: 17-18
• Publication date: 2009-11-01
• Edition: Publisher's version
• ISSN: 0959-7727
• Language: English
• Keywords: OIES