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Mphepo - Electric Wind - Spread Beyond Malawi, and Eventually Things Began To Change

William Kamkwamba dropped out of school in Malawi because his family could no longer afford fees. He taught himself physics from library books and was inspired to build a windmill. With scrap materials, he constructed a small windmill model and then a larger windmill that produced electricity. This brought him fame locally but he still couldn't return to school until an official arranged for him to continue his education after seeing the windmill. William then shared his story internationally and used donations to help his community with clean water and education.

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40 views

Mphepo - Electric Wind - Spread Beyond Malawi, and Eventually Things Began To Change

William Kamkwamba dropped out of school in Malawi because his family could no longer afford fees. He taught himself physics from library books and was inspired to build a windmill. With scrap materials, he constructed a small windmill model and then a larger windmill that produced electricity. This brought him fame locally but he still couldn't return to school until an official arranged for him to continue his education after seeing the windmill. William then shared his story internationally and used donations to help his community with clean water and education.

Uploaded by

Arina
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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In 2002, William Kamkwamba had to drop out of school, as his father, a maize and

tobacco farmer, could no longer afford his school fees. But despite this setback, William
was determined to get his education. He began visiting a local library that had just
opened in his old primary school, where he discovered a tattered science book. With
only a rudimentary grasp of English, he taught himself basic physics - mainly by studying
photos and diagrams. Another book he found there featured windmills on the cover and
inspired him to try and build his own.

He started by constructing a small model. Then, with the help of a cousin and friend, he
spent many weeks searching scrap yards and found old tractor fans, shock absorbers,
plastic pipe and bicycle parts, which he used to build the real thing.

For windmill blades, William cut some bath pipe in two lengthwise, then heated the
pieces over hot coals to press the curled edges flat. To bore holes into the blades, he
stuck a nail through half a corncob, heated the metal red and twisted it through the
blades. It took three hours to repeatedly heat the nail and bore the holes. He attached
the blades to a tractor fan using proper nuts and bolts and then to the back axle of a
bicycle. Electricity was generated through the bicycle dynamo. When the wind blew the
blades, the bike chain spun the bike wheel, which charged the dynamo and sent a
current through wire to his house.

What he had built was a crude machine that produced 12 volts and powered four lights.
When it was all done, the windmill's wingspan measured more than eight feet and sat on
top of a rickety tower 15 feet tall that swayed violently in strong gales. He eventually
replaced the tower with a sturdier one that stands 39 feet, and built a second machine
that watered a family garden.

The windmill brought William Kamkwamba instant local fame, but despite his
accomplishment, he was still unable to return to school. However, news of his magetsi a
mphepo - electric wind - spread beyond Malawi, and eventually things began to change.
An education official, who had heard news of the windmill, came to visit his village and
was amazed to learn that William had been out of school for five years. He arranged for
him to attend secondary school at the government's expense and brought journalists to
the farm to see the windmill. Then a story published in the Malawi Daily Mail caught the
attention of bloggers, which in turn caught the attention of organisers for the Technology
Entertainment and Design conference.

In 2007, William spoke at the TED Global conference in Tanzania and got a standing
ovation. Businessmen stepped forward with offers to fund his education and projects,
and with money donated by them, he was able to put his cousin and several friends back
into school and pay for some medical needs of his family. With the donation, he also
drilled a borehole for a well and water pump in his village and installed drip irrigation in
his father's fields.

The water pump has allowed his family to expand its crops. They have abandoned
tobacco and now grow maize, beans, soybeans, potatoes and peanuts. The windmills
have also brought big lifestyle and health changes to the other villagers. 'The village has
changed a lot,' William says. 'Now, the time that they would have spent going to fetch
water, they are using for doing other things. And also the water they are drinking is clean
water, so there is less disease.' The villagers have also stopped using kerosene and can
use the money previously spent on fuel to buy other things.
William Kamkwamba's example has inspired other children in the village to pursue
science. William says they now see that if they put their mind to something, they can
achieve it. 'It has changed the way people think,' he says.

Building the Windmill


William learned some (1)  from a library book.

First, he built a (2)  of the windmill.

Then he collected materials from (3)  with a relative.

He made the windmill blades from pieces of (4) .

He fixed the blades to a (5)  and then to part of a bicycle.

He raised the blades on a tower.

Questions 6-10
In boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
6 William used the electricity he created for village transport. ..........
7 At first, William's achievement was ignored by local people. ..........
8 Journalists from other countries visited William's farm. ..........
9 William used money he received to improve water supplies in his village. ..........
10 The health of the villagers has improved since the windmill was built. ..........
Questions 11-13
Answer the questions below.

Use NO MORE THAN ONE WORD and/or a NUMBER from the passage for each
answer.
11 How tall was the final tower that William built? 
12 What did the villagers use for fuel before the windmill was built? 
13 What school subject has become more popular in William's village? 

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