The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

“Necessity is the mother of invention.”

~Plato

Books are a reader’s best friend.  I read a lot of books in my leisure time. When I read a book, I am not on my couch, I am in the book with the protagonist. I feel and do everything he/she does.  I prefer reading fiction, mysteries and true stories. As a writer I feel reading is as important as writing. Last summer when I wanted to read something inspirational, I came across so many books. One of them really stuck with me…

I chose to read ‘The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind’ (I am so happy that I decided to read this book). This book is based on a true story. It is about how a young teenager- William Kamkwamba made up his mind to create something that would change his life! When he was in his early teenage years a terrible famine struck his village in Malawi, Africa. His family were farmers and the hot weather and less water did not permit them to grow crops because of which they had no food or income. With no money he had to drop out of school and his only hope was the village library.

Every day they had to go on with two meals of very small portions that left him and his family very hungry. When he was very hungry, he would go out with his dog and try hunting for small birds. But the birds were smart, he could not lure them without grains. He tried replacing the grains of rice by using small rocks and ashes. It did not work and he was not surprised

Along with all these problems, he had to even go to the trading centre to try to get some food for himself and his family. The people there were not exactly understanding. After his many attempts of trying to make his way through the long line and failing, he gave up. The look on the faces of his family members when he returned empty handed was a worse feeling than that of his stomach longing for some food.

Trying to read to distract himself was not an option. With no electricity in his village he did not have enough light to read during the night. Like my opening quote says necessity is after all the mother of invention. His necessity for electricity got him to consider building a windmill. He realised that building this structure that he did not know anything about apart from the pictures and little information he gained from the books, was going to be hard to build. But that would not stop him from trying his very best. He collected the things he needed from a scrap yard. His story begins from here, how he used scrap leftover in the junkyard and made it a windmill. This electrified his house and they could pump water to their farmland. Thus, able to grow crops! This was the beginning of a new chapter in his life.

His achievement gave him so many new opportunities. He graduated from Dartmouth College, USA in 2014 with a degree in Environmental Studies.

William Kamkwamba’s story taught me that nothing is impossible as long as you try. His work is supported by The Moving Windmills Project. His story continues to inspire thousands of people to build their own windmill! I rate this book with 4.9 stars out of 5 and suggest everyone who is ages 10 and up reads it. I really hope you will enjoy reading the book. It is also now available to watch on Netflix.

Let me know in the comments below if you have read any book or story that inspired you so that I can add them to my reading list.

I have finally figured out and enabled the subscription option 😊. Please do subscribe to be notified of my new posts.

I got featured in the newspaper Young World Hindu last summer under the section Chronicles of Choice as I had read this book. 

Thanks for reading!

See you next time!