About
William Kamkwamba (born 5 August 1987) is a Malawian inventor, engineer, and author. He gained renown in his country in 2001 when he built a wind turbine to power multiple electrical appliances in his family’s house in Wimbe, 23 kilometres (14 mi) east of Kasungu, using blue gum trees, bicycle parts, and materials collected in a local scrapyard. Since then, he has built a solar-powered water pump that supplies the first drinking water in his village and two other wind turbines, the tallest standing at 12 meters (39 ft), and has built two more, including one in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.
William Kamkwamba was born on (1987-08-05)5 August 1987 in Malawi. He grew up in a peasant family in the rural village of Wimbe, and belonged to the Anglican Church. From a young age, William enjoyed playing with his friends using recycled materials. A crippling famine forced Kamkwamba to drop out of school, and he was not able to return to school because his family was unable to afford the tuition. In a desperate attempt to retain his education, Kamkwamba began to frequent the local school library; it was there that he discovered his love for electronics. Before, he had…
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Bio and photo via Wikipedia, used under Creative Commons licensing.