The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

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  • ALA Alex Award (2010)
  • Corine Internationaler Buchpreis for FOCUS Zukunftspreis (2010)
  • Children’s Africana Book Award for Best Book for Young Children
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Regular price $2.77
Unit price
per
ISBN: 9780007316199
Publisher: Harper True
Date of Publication: 2009-01-01
Related Collections: Biographies & Memoirs, Science
Goodreads rating: 4.07
(rated by 29858 readers)

Description

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURED DIRECTED BY AND STARRING CHIWETEL EJIOFOR – AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX When William Kamkwamba was just 14 years old, his family told him that he must leave school and come home to work on the farm – they could no longer afford his fees. This is his story of how he found a way to make a difference, how he bought light to his family and village, and hope to his nation.Malawi is a country battling AIDS, drought and famine, and in 2002, a season of floods, followed by the most severe famine in fifty years, brought it to its knees. Like the majority of the population, William's family were farmers. They were totally reliant on the maize crop. By the end of 2001, after many lean and difficult years, there was no more crop. They were running out of food – had nothing to sell – and had months until they would be able to harvest their crop again.Forced to leave school at 14 years old, with no hope of raising the funds to go again, William resorted to borrowing books from the small local library to continue his education. One day, browsing the titles, he picked up a book about energy, with a picture of a wind turbine on the front cover. Fascinated by science and electricity, but knowing little more about the technology, William decided to build his own. Ridiculed by those around him, and exhausted from his work in the fields every day, and using nothing more than bits of scrap metal, old bicycle parts and wood from the blue gum tree, he slowly built his very own windmill.This windmill has changed the world in which William and his family live. Only 2 per cent of Malawi has electricity; William's windmill now powers the lightbulbs and radio for his compound. He has since built more windmills for his school and his village.When news of William's invention spread, people from across the globe offered to help him. Soon he was re-enrolled in college and travelling to America to visit wind farms. This is his incredible story.William's dream is that other African's will learn to help themselves – one windmill and one light bulb at a time – and that maybe one day they will be able to power their own computers, and use the internet, and see for themselves how his life has changed after picking up that book in the library.
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  • ALA Alex Award (2010)
  • Corine Internationaler Buchpreis for FOCUS Zukunftspreis (2010)
  • Children’s Africana Book Award for Best Book for Young Children
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.