Business Communication PPT (MMS A) (2015 – 2017)

William Kamkwamba

Background (Slide 4)William Kamkwamba was born August 5, 1987 in Dowa, Malawi (Southeast Africa), and grew up on his family farm in Masitala Village, Wimbe, two and half hours northeast of Malawi’s capital city, Lilongwe. The second eldest of Trywell and Agnes Kamkwamba’s seven children, William has six sisters. William was educated at Wimbe Primary School, completing 8th grade and was then accepted to Kachokolo secondary school. Due to severe famine in 2001, his family lacked the funds to pay the $80 in annual school fees and William was forced to drop out of school a few months into his freshman year. For five years he was unable to go to school.

Family (Slide 5)

Left to Right: Grandma, Mother, Father, William, Grandfather

Windmill (Slide 6 – 8)Starting at 14, rather than accept his fate, William started borrowing books from a small community lending library located at his former primary school. He borrowed an 8th grade American textbook called Using Energy, which depicted wind turbines on its cover. He decided to build a windmill to power his family’s home and obviate the need for kerosene, which provided only smoky, flickering, distant and expensive light after dark. First he built a prototype using a radio motor, then his initial 5-meter windmill out of a broken bicycle, tractor fan blade, old shock absorber, and blue gum trees.

Windmill (Slide 9 – 16)

After hooking the windmill to a car battery for storage, William was able to power four light bulbs and charge neighbors’ mobile phones. This system was even equipped with homemade light switches and a circuit breaker made from nails, wire, and magnets. The windmill was later extended to 12 meters to better catch the wind above the trees. A third windmill pumped grey water for irrigation.

Windmill (Slide 17 – 18)

The windmill project drew many visitors from kilometers around, including Dr. Hartford Mchazime, Ph.D., the deputy director of the MTTA, the Malawian NGO responsible for the community library. Mchazime brought press, including The Malawi Daily Times, who wrote a long story. Soyapi Mumba and Mike McKay, engineers at Baobab Health Partnership in Malawi blogged about the article, and news of William’s inventions reached Emeka Okafor, program director for TEDGlobal, a prestigious gathering of thinkers and innovators. Okafor searched quite diligently to find William and invite him to the conference as a fellow. William’s presentation led to additional mentors, donors, and companies supporting his education and further projects.

Playright (Slide 19)

William also wrote and performed a HIV prevention comedy with his six best friends, entitled You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover to over 500 villagers on three occasions.

Education (Slide 20 - 22)Due to the fundraising by Dr. Mchazime, William finally re-enrolled in high school at Madisi secondary school where he spent one trimester, and then transferred to African Bible College Christian Academy, a private prep school in the capital city of Lilongwe. He completed his first full year back in school in June 2008. During summer 2008 he studied immersion English at Regents Language Institute in Cambridge, UK.

In September, 2008, William started as one of 97 inaugural students at the African Leadership Academy, a new pan-African prep school based outside of Johannesburg, South Africa. He graduated in June of 2010.

After graduating from The African Leadership Academy, William entered Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA, in the fall of 2010.

At Dartmouth College he did his majors in environmental studies and minors in engineering. William graduated from Dartmouth College in the spring of 2014.

Speaking (Slide 23 – 24)Kamkwamba was a fellow at the prestigious TEDGlobal Conference in June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania where he spoke briefly.

In June 2008 he spoke at the World Economic Forum Africa meeting in Cape Town where he keynoted the AMD-sponsored technology pre-conference, and spoke on a panel.

He spoke at International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States in January, 2009.

He also spoke at the grand opening of the African Leadership Academy in February, 2009.

Speaking (Slide 25 – 28)July 2009: TED Global, Oxford, England

August, 2009: Inaugural Maker Faire Africa, Accra, Ghana

August, 2009: Inaugural Science Chicago, Chicago, US

January 2011: Google Science Fair, Chicago, US

April 2013: Clinton Global Initiative University, Danforth Campus, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, US

April, 2013, Clinton Global Initiative University, Danforth Campus, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States (slide 29)

In April, 2013 Washington University opened its Danforth Campus in St. Louis, Missouri, United States to the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), a working weekend retreat that trains college-age young people for service to society. Approximately 1,200 students, hailing from 75 countries and all 50 states (and representing some 300 colleges and universities), gathered at the university 5–7 April, 2013 for inspiration and information.

Documentary Film (Slide 30)

William is the subject of a documentary short film Moving Windmills, produced by Tom Rielly and directed and edited by Ari Kushnir and Scott Thrift of Missing Pieces which was selected as one of 50 films out of 2500+ entries for Pangea Day an international multimedia event conducted on May 10, 2008. in six cities around the world viz. Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro were linked to produce a 4-hour program of films, music and speakers. The film won the North American Filmmaker’s Award from Participant Productions, producers of An Inconvenient Truth (2006) (A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide), Good Night and Good Luck (2005) (George Clooney) and Charlie Wilson’s War (2007) (Tom Hanks). Building on their initial success, Tom Rielly and Ben Nabors are currently producing a full-length documentary on Kamkwamba.

Book (Slide 31 – 33)

William wrote his autobiography The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope with co-author Bryan Mealer (author of All Things Must Fight to Live, his reportage of the war in Democratic Republic of Congo). William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins published the book worldwide on September 29, 2009. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind spent five weeks on The New York Times bestseller list in 2009. On January 19, 2010 a children’s version of the book was released, which the Wall Street Journal deemed “ingenious” and the Boston Globe called “powerful”.

Media (Slide 34)Kamkwamba was profiled on the front page of The Wall Street Journal December 8, 2007, as well in major articles in The Malawi Daily Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, La Repubblica, Banker Magazine (Financial Times, UK), a special Africa issue of L’Uomo Vogue and myriad blog posts on sites such as Boing Boing, Worldchanging and Treehugger, and his blog has been featured on the front page of news aggregators such as Digg and Reddit.

Moving Windmills Project (Slide 35-37)

Through Moving Windmills Project foundation, William has worked extensively in Kasungu district, particularly his own home village, Wimbe. They have been able to build three classroom blocks with two classes each for the local primary school, Wimbe primary school. These new classrooms have solar panel installations that allow the students to study late into the night. They have also introduced a one-laptop-per-child initiative, which enables them to expose youngsters on how to use computers at an early age. William’s local high school too has been a beneficiary of William’s NGO. They have also installed solar panels and systems in Kachokolo high school, which allow the students to use computers for their studies. William’s NGO has created a local network through the use of egranary, a box that stores academic information within a local network. It is like a digital library. This means that students don’t need to be online to access academic material. They simply need to access the local network using a router!

Moving Windmills Project (Slide 38-39)

Apart from working in schools, the NGO has also sought ways to improve the livelihoods of the residents of Kasungu district. In summer of 2013 William piloted a biogas digester project in Masitala village. This digester uses cow dung to generate gas for cooking, thus providing an alternative energy source to firewood. Additionally, the processed manure can be used as fertilizer for crops, resulting in a win-win situation for the women. The project also reduces overreliance on firewood and overall deforestation. They hope to continue expanding this project into the neighboring villages. Along with the bio-gas project, they have also taught people how to fix and maintain water pumps for water wells. Indeed, most individuals contract water borne diseases because they lack someone who can repair and keep the water pumps in good condition. With such training having taken place in the villages surrounding Kasungu, they hope to see a reduction in the incidences of water-borne related illnesses.

Moving Windmills Project (Slide 40)

While working with the community, William’s NGO also saw it fit to create a football team for both girls and boys to provide a space for school drop outs to engage in meaningful activity, rather than remaining idle. The matches also create small business opportunities for women and families in the area, who bring food items to sell to the spectators. William’s younger sister, Doris Kamkwamba, runs the female soccer team, while his friend, Binali Jamu, manages the male soccer team.

Other Projects (Slide 41)

Subsequent projects have included clean water, malaria prevention, solar power and lighting for the six homes in his family compound; a deep water well with a solar powered pump for clean water, a drip irrigation system, and the outfitting of the village team Wimbe United with their first ever uniforms and shoes. Since receiving their sun and wind-themed uniforms, the team has been on a winning streak that has brought the village together with pride.