This memoir of William’s life growing up in Malawi the son
of poor farmers, showcases what one can accomplish if one is willing to work
for it. William earns a spot in
secondary school, but due to a famine and poor harvest seasons, his family is
unable to pay his tuition. William wants
to keep up with his studies so he gets class notes from his friend, Gilbert, and
visits the library at his primary school.
While at the library, William discovers a few books on
physics, energy and science. Although
William’s English is poor, he is able to understand the diagrams and looks up
words he doesn’t know in the dictionary.
William decides to build a windmill to provide lights for his family’s
home and hopefully power an irrigation system for the farm so they never have
to go hungry from a draught again.
William’s windmill is successful in providing energy and gains much
interest from local villagers and some businessmen in the city.
The windmill changes William’s fortune and future. His radio interviews yield an invitation to
be a TED Global Fellow in 2007 at age 14. See his TED talk here. He meets
many people at the TED conference who eventually help him with tuition for
school and encourage him to write this memoir.
While on the book tour in the U.S., William visits many colleges and
decides to attend Dartmouth where he is currently a student.
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