Manyani Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Kasungu District received some of the 4000 copies of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind book, courtesy of former U.S peace coprs who volunteered and lived in Malawi.
Country Director for the Peace Corps in Malawi, Carol Spahn, revealed that the donation was planned for more community day secondary schools that currently host a Peace Corps Volunteer. Each of these schools will receive 40 copies of the book, which will stay at the school after the Peace Corps Volunteer completes his or her service.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a memoir of William Kamkwamba’s youth in Wimbe, Kasungu District. In 2006, Mr. Kambwamba used knowledge that he gained from reading books supplied by the U.S. government in his school library to construct a windmill from locally found materials. The windmill generated electricity to bring light to his family’s home for the first time. Mr. Kambwamba’s story has become widely celebrated through The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and was recently debuted in March as a movie on Netflix.
Since 1963, Peace Corps Volunteers have served in various rural areas throughout Malawi, working in the sectors of education, health, and the environment to build the capacity of their communities to address issues and improve their well-being.