Afican Odyssey: Report 11 - Wembe United

Wembe United


William Kamkwamba is not your average high school graduating senior. In his hometown of Wembe, young William is a mogul: his home has the only electricity, he owns the local soccer team, and he will soon open a maize mill. He just graduated from the African Leadership Academy, my friend Chris's school in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will soon head to Dartmouth on a full scholarship to study Mechanical Engineering.

Yet William did not start out going to top schools, he did not grow up reading every book in the library. His hometown doesn't even have a library. And before William's non-profit foundation paid for the materials for a school building last year, his elementary school met in an open field, under the shade of trees, in a circle around their teacher.

William grew up in his extended family's small compound of tiny earthen-brick buildings with no electricity. Today, there is not even a fence, as no fence needed when there is tall African grass and no neighbors for thousands of feet. At the age of 13, William decided he wanted electricity. William's town is located 7 kilometers down a dirt road, far away from the nearest city. Unfortunately, electricity in Malawi only runs along the major roads (both of them).

So William went to the small collection of books known as the village library, looked up electricity, and set about building a windmill. Because, as he says, "There is much wind in Malawi." Soon, he had installed hand-built electrical boxes, amplifiers, and circuit breakers in his entire house, powering light bulbs (to study with) and a radio and television.

Within a couple of years, when word of the crazy invention spread, William's windmill brought international reporters and visitors to his small town in Malawi. A best-selling book and international fame followed. When we asked to see the original circuit breaker, William replied matter of factly "Oh, I'm sorry, that is in the museum in Chicago." By that, he meant the Museum of Science and Technology in Chicago, Illinois, as part of an exhibit on WIlliam's windmill.

Amazingly, as much as he has traveled the world, William is still a young man from the village. Or, as he would say, his "virrage." You see, in the spoken Malawian language, "R" and "L" are interchangeable. Meaning that village becomes virrage, Malawi becomes Marawi, and Malaria (no laughing matter) becomes "Be carefur not to catch mararia." William listens to "rocal Marawian leggae music." Decipher that, if you can.

To the townspeople, William is somewhat of an oddity - clearly nobody comprehends the good William has done for his hometown. The new school, materials paid by the Moving Windmills Foundation. He started the soccer team because the youths in town didn't have enough to keep them occupied, and he saw them getting involved in crime. Mind you, most of the "youths" on Wembe United are older than William.

The young children of the village know William not for his international success, but rather as the one who brings the "Azungu!" ("White People!") As we walk the dusty roads through town, towards the unpaved central road, a crowd of young kids appears and starts chanting "Azungu, Azungu!" like we are some sort of famous sports team coming out for kickoff.

The contrast between international fame and village boy remains stark in his home - a crisp photo of William shaking hands with the President of Malawi hangs in a small frame on the grubby living room wall, above worn out couches and a dirt floor. On the opposite wall, another photo of William on a panel of honor at an international meeting of the minds hangs next to a wall calendar, open to June 2008.

After his mother, who speaks no English, prepares us a traditional meal, which we eat with our hands, she brings out the guest book for us to sign. This year alone, hundreds of visitors have visited the tiny home at the end of a dirt. We sign on the same page as the American Ambassador to Malawi, who was there only days before.

After a small contribution to the Moving Windmills Foundation on behalf of the Oil Barons Society of South Texas, we are off, yet another azungo to have come to Marawi to visit the the famous windmirs.

William's Best-Selling Book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boy-Who-Harnessed-Wind-Electricity/dp/0061884987
William's Wikipedia Page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kamkwamba
William on the Daily Show (my personal favorite):
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-7-2009/william-kamkwamba

Matthew-