William Kamkwamba’s moving story of hope and determination
I recently finished reading “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”, which was a Christmas gift from my wife, and was astonished by the determination, courage and unrelenting hope that is William Kamkwamba’s story. A young boy of 14 whose parents can’t afford to send him to school overcomes language barriers and a lack of education by tenacity and a sheer will to help his family survive.
I take a lot of things for granted living in the US with all the privileges and opportunities that I have been given and this story puts life in perspective. After a famine that ravaged his home in Malawi, William Kamkwamba rises to the challenge of securing his families struggles by building a wind turbine out of mostly spare parts that he found near his home. During the gathering of parts and construction his villagers and some of his family that that he was crazy and to find out how truly gifted he is. His recycled windmill allows his family to pump water to irrigate their crops and provides electricity to light the African night.
This is just a taste of Williams’s story, if you are looking for a good read that will make you understand what true struggles are read this book.
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