The new Netflix movie is an inspiring tale of a 13-year-old Malawi boy who saves his town from starvation by building a wind turbine out of scraps and bike parts. It’s the kind of story that makes us believe anything is possible, so long as we never give up and take full advantage of the books in our local library. It also claims to be based on the true story of William Kamkwamba?So who is the real William Kamkwamba? Did he really save his small down from devastation? What is he up to now?
And who plays him in the movie? Here’s what you need to know about the true story behind The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Who is William Kamkwamba? What is the True Story of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind?William Kamkwamba is a 31-year-old engineer and author from Kasunga, Malawi. When a terrible famine gripped the town of Wimbe, Kamkwamba was forced to quit school because his family could no longer afford the hefty tuition fee. Undeterred, Kamkwamba started visiting the local library, where he soaked up books on electronics. This is how he got the idea of building a wind turbine which could power electronic devices.
Nov 14, 2018 Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” has landed at Netflix. The streaming giant has the British star’s film globally with the exception of China, where. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is finally available for fans to stream right now on Netflix! Get its Netflix Release Date. Watch the trailer, casting news and get everything else you need to know right here.
Later he installed a solar-powered water pump that brought fresh water to the town for the first time.Kamkwamba’s ingenuity soon attracted the attention of The Daily Times, a Malawi newspaper, which wrote about the boy’s accomplishment in November 2006. After that, the story spread internationally and Kamkwamba was invited to give a TED talk, and later, to appear on The Daily Show.In 2013, Kamkwamba collaborated on a book with Bryan Mealer about his life story. The book is called — you guessed it — The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, and became a bestseller/the inspiration for this new Netflix movie. What is William Kamkwamba Doing Today?Good news!
In 2014, Kamkwamba received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth, meaning the boy went all the way from Malawi to the Ivy League. He has continued to use his intellect to help his fellow Malawians, and has built more wind turbines for his small town. He is planning to build still more, including one for the political capital of his country.
Photo: Getty Images Who Plays William Kamkwamba in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind? Who Is Maxwell Simba?Newcomer Maxwell Simba plays William Kamkwamba in the film version of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Writer/director (who also co-stars in the film as Kamkwamba’s father) discovered the Kenyan actor., and since appearing in the film, he has been offered a scholarship to attend the African Leadership Academy, a prestigious South African school that also boasts the real Kamkwamba as an alumni. Who Directed The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind on Netflix?The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind marks the directorial debut of actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. He is a British actor best-known for his Oscar-nominated performance in 12 Years a Slave and his role as “Keira Knightley’s husband who doesn’t know his best friend is in love with Keira Knightley” in Love Actually. Trending Now.This story has been shared 1,912 times. 1,912.This story has been shared 1,395 times.
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Oscar-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor makes his directorial debut with The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, an upcoming original Netflix movie, out Mar. The story focuses on a Malawian boy named William (Maxwell Simba), who saves his town from famine by constructing a windmill to provide water and electricity., bringing a wider audience into William Kamkwamba’s incredible journey of innovation.Back in 2007, Kamkwamba gave a TED Talk in Arusha, Tanzania, about how he accomplished this feat at only 14 years old. He explained that since he couldn’t afford his education, he dropped out of school. He found a book in the library called Using Energy that sparked the idea of creating the windmill. The book gave instructions of how to construct one, but Kamkwamba had to get creative with the materials he used.“I used a bicycle frame, a pulley, and a plastic pipe,” explained the inventor, saying that it generated 12 watts of electricity. It was able to light four bulbs and two radios in his home. When that first windmill became a success, he began making more.
He said his next plan was to create another one that would pump water and produce irrigation for crops, and that he hoped, through his TED Talk, people would be inspired to lend a hand and provide materials. TED on YouTubeIn an interview with Wall Street Journal from the same year, he, including building a windmill for a primary school, and even offering to help the local handyman properly build one. But the expansion of his efforts was in part thanks to his TED Talk.
WSJ noted that after the TED Talk, entrepreneurs stepped up to finance his education, giving him the opportunity to go to African Bible College Christian Academy, an international school in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe. He later went on to in the U.S., graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2014, per Dartmouth’s newspaper.In 2009, Kamkwamba, about the process of his invention and his journey to becoming a prolific inventor who made a huge impact on not just his town but his entire country. He also gave a second TED Talk, giving updates on his accomplishments. He joked that during the first one, he was too nervous to speak in depth about his work, but this time, he would explain why it was so necessary to create the windmill. TED on YouTube'One year, our fortune turned very bad.
In 2001, we experienced an awful famine. Within five months, all Malawians began to starve to death. My family ate one meal per day, at night,” said Kamkwamba in the talk. He wanted to do something for his family and his country and stumbling upon the aforementioned textbook proved to be a life-changing experience, once he found out that windmills could provide the water needed for a successful harvest.Kamkwamba’s story is incredible, showing how despite all odds, his determination drove him to find a solution that could be replicated by other communities. And in telling his story, Ejiofor is inspiring viewers to follow their own dreams and use them for the greater good.