Wind was in profusion, need was driving, knowledge was minuscule and resources none – caring least about loopholes, Kamkawamba took to the available scrap timber, crafting it into a 12-meter tall windmill that cost around $16.
Innovation is no man’s slave – it’s all about ingenuity and desire, that leads one out of the blocks. Education is a form of self-delusion – you hang on to it until you’ve caught on, but only if you’re that fortunate, I say this ’cause, not all are.
This is probably the best I could attract you with, before acquainting you with the story of a wonder kid, who by his act of resolve has left the world spellbound… William Kamkawamba is a young man from Malawi, without any formal education – Kamkawamba has engineered and built a windmill out of scrap to power his house. The blades of the windmill are carved out of steel that power a bicycle dynamo, the type that power a bicycle headlamp, which in turn provide electricity to the battery.
After having to drop out of school, the only source of knowledge for William Kamkawamba were books that had been donated to his primary school library, and to rise from there and achieve a feat as this is surely remarkable.
The tale is wonderful to hear, but what set off the man in this direction is a presumed fact – the third world countries of Africa may have coal and oil in abundance but still the source of energy that they have to resort to is either windmill or solar (West demands the third world countries to use less efficient yet expensive forms of energy, citing perils of global warming).
This saga well illustrates, what little knowledge with few books can do, future of this green hero could be bright, if you make a generous effort to help William with his education and engineering pursuits. All I can do is hope he gets all the money he needs and has a great future.
[Source: Inhabitat]
