William Kamkwamba's Malawi Windmill Blog

My sisters and cousins with their first books

My sisters Tiyamike, 6 (Hiding behind Guess How Much I Love You?) and Rose, 12 (Holding Katie the Windmill Cat) and my cousins with their first books. Because most people can't afford private books in Malawi, children can go through all of primary school without reading anything beyond their school primers and textbooks. Some well-wishers sent many childrens' books that are written or take place in countries around Africa in addition to English and American classics such as Where the Wild Things Are. All the children in my neighborhood, most of whom are cousins or sisters share these new books.

Soyapi Mumba and his wife Miriam

Soyapi Mumba is my friend and colleague at Baobab Health Partnership. We met in June on the plane from Lilongwe to Nairobi on the way to TEDGlobal. In many ways he's responsible for many of the good things that have happened recently, as it was he who brought the newspaper article about me to work last November, and our mutual friend Mike McKay posted about it on his blog Hactivate, part of the African technology blogosphere. Soyapi has been very kind to me, helping me at the conference and being a great friend and mentor since we got back. He's helped a lot with some of the journalists with whom I've been corresponding. I'm very grateful.

At secondary/high school at ABCCA

Here is my school classroom. It's unusual in that everyone works at a computer at their own pace. We also share the desks in the middle. Mrs. Maclean is our coach, helping us with assignments. Because we have only about a dozen students, she can give each of us individual attention. We have two students from Ethiopia, one from Korea, me from America and the rest are Americans.   

Working on English with Mrs. Maclean.

My classmates work at their computers on self-directed lessons (left to right, John-John, John, Sung, and Tsega

My classmate Mahlet, who was born in Ethiopia, wears headphones and listens to music so that she can concentrate.

Mahlet, Americans John and John-John joking around. Sung, who was born in Korea, and Tsega, from Ethiopia are in the background.

The team from Baoabab Health looking at the iPhone in Malawi

A friend brought his iPhone on a recent trip to Malawi. What's amazing is that Baobab's HIV patient care application just works right away over the Wifi connection and because of the interface elements built into the phone, it looks even better than in Firefox on a touchscreen PC.  Gerry is on his way back from the United States with an iPod Touch that we can experiment with even more. Boabab is the NGO where I help out after school, time permitting.

Mwante, Soyapi and Oliver with the iPhone

Alex, Rashid, Gerry and Soyapi looking at the Boabab Health eART application running on Safari on the iPhone.

My secondary school head teacher Mrs. Lorilee Maclean and me

At ABCCA, I am enrolled in an unusual kind of high school called distance learning where I am taught by teachers from the United States and Canada over the Internet. I'm also being tutored in math by the school headmaster Mr. Chuck Wilson to catch up on mathematical concepts not taught in my previous schooling, such as fraction. I'm also taking American History and English. Soon I will begin studying for my JCE and MCE Malawian secondary exams which I plan to take in the future.  Mrs. Maclean has high academic standards and cares about reading.

At home I am reading some of the books that one of my mentors brought from the states, such as A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Because the English from Dickens' time is challenging, I read with a Dictionary at hand.

Obstacles in the Road

 


Goats and Cows cross the highway on the way to my home in Wimbe

In Malawi most people don't have automobiles, so the roads in the rural areas aren't especially crowded with vehicles. Most people travel in minibuses that often have a few too many people in them. The minibuses can break down or get stopped by police for being overfull. Sometimes these situations cause major delays. Baobab Health does have a couple of vehicles, but I don't know how to drive just yet.

Cars and Land Cruisers share the road with people, bicycles, dogs, and farm animals. At any time an animal can dart into the road so you have to be extra careful. It's especially dangerous to drive at night, so most people try to avoid it. Many trucks drive slowly or have missing lights. If you have an accident far from town, it's very hard to get emergency assistance in time.

A recent visitor told me he thinks of progress in Malawi as a lot like the road— to move forward, you have to clear a lot of goats out of the way.

Only one cavity

Today I went to the dentist for the first time. First, they cleaned my teeth and then filled a cavity.  It didn't hurt too much, and a well-wisher from Canada named Katherine sent me a electric toothbrush that cleans with sound waves. Every day is something new...

My first physical

Today I went to the clinic next door to my school to have my first medical checkup or "physical," as they call it in North America. Traditionally in Malawi, you only go to the doctor if you are very sick. I learned about blood pressure, diastolic and systolic measurements, pulse or heart rate, and a new word, prophylaxis or prevention. I am healthy and my readings are all normal. The doctor is very kind and explains everything new. I am to take anti-Malarial prophylaxis during the rainy season.

My mentor and I ask the doctor for anti-parasite pills for my whole family. Everyone who lives in rural Malawi is at risk, and it's best if they take the pills once a year to make sure no one has an infection.

After the checkup, I realize it's much easier to prevent than cure illness. I am lucky to be able to go for preventative care.

Tomorrow: My first dentist appointment!

Today was my first day of my new school ABCCA

ABCCA school entrance

Today I began my new educational journey at the African Bible College Christian Academy. The Secondary (High) School started a week earlier because we are using a Distance Learning curriculum over the Internet called North Star, and we're all learning the software together. It's a lot for even the American students to digest and I'm new to computers and typing, but I am determined to learn it.

I'm starting as a freshman with a course load of three courses at first to get used to the new environment. There are currently six students in my class, but more are coming next week and over the coming month. The other students are from multiple countries including America. They, the head teacher Mrs. Maclean and the headmaster Mr. Wilson have been very nice to me.

I'm taking American History for the first time. We have to wear uniforms at school, white logo'd polo shirts and black slacks.

ABCCA garden

Living in Lilongwe

As part of going to my school, I have moved to Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. I am staying with Gerry Douglas, the founder of Baobab Health Partnership, where I will be working after school. His wife Thuy, a medical doctor, and their six-year-old boy Ben are visiting for a month. I will live in their guest room for at least a couple of months. Gerry and his wife are very warm and caring, and it is comforting to stay with people who have an interest in my future.  Gerry is building the new offices for Baobab Health in the back of his property. When finished, the NGO will have a lot more space, which they need desperately. They have outgrown their office on the main grounds of the Kamuzu Hospital in Lilongwe.

Gerry also has something very unusual in his back yard: a "jig" for fashioning steel masts from scratch to hold the WiFi communications antennas that they use to send data back and forth from their office to the hospital and nearby clinics. I know how to do some welding, but I'm hoping to learn more from the Baobab team.

In Lilongwe city, the state utility provider ESCOM's power cuts out at least once a day, and we use candles and flashlights.  I want to build a windmill/battery system for Gerry so that he has power backup without needing a generator, which is expensive, noisy,  smelly, and emits pollution.  In Wimbe Village in Kasungu, my family's home has steady power, stored in the deep-power batteries by the windmill.