Overcoming Educational Deprivation in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

"If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I'd still swim. And I'd despise the one who gave up." -Abraham Maslow. Even the darkest shadows vanish under beams of light. Light makes way for cultivation where the plants are lush. Darkness cast on our everyday lives can be illuminated with our own luminance of hope and passion, and thus, the deepest darkness that we face can be conquered by our own efforts.

Like darkness, obstacles can be overcome by brilliance, leaving favorable conditions for development and progress. Forced to endure horrible shadows, William Kamkwaba from The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwaba possessed such brilliance to conquer the steep obstacles of deprivation from education and the lack of resources he faced with tenacity and resourcefulness.

Deprived of the education he longed for, William satiated his hunger himself. Living in poverty, he was unable to attend school because his family did not have any money to spare.

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This simple opportunity was denied to him, giving him a bleak future. Scared that he wouldn't amount to his fullest potential, his "greatest fear was... what every Malawian was supposed to do... My future had been chosen and thinking about it now scared me so much I wanted to be sick.” (183) Starved from learning, William was almost helpless in his situation; it appeared that he was destined to live and die in poverty, striking a paranoia in him.

After seeing drunks waste their lives away, he "started worrying that I would become like them.

.. and all my ambitions would fade to maize rows." (224) With sheer willpower, he taught himself engineering with only books and his poor English. He was haunted by his obstacles, so he fought, back pressed against the wall with persistence and desperation. “To fight that kind of darkness, I kept returning to the library every week.” (225) When his right to an education wasn't handed to him, William sought it out himself. Eventually, his persistence led him to success, where his windmill was built, setting him on a path leading upwards. Light is an unstoppable force that travels at hundreds of thousands of miles a second, and like light his brilliance shone through, unable to be smothered.

From material to psychological resources, William lacked many necessities, another obstacle that he faced. There was a widespread scarcity of material; food, batteries, and tools were always short in supply, and toys had to be homemade. "While my friends from America could find miniature trucks already assembled in their shopping malls, we had to build ours from wire and empty cartons of booze. Even still, they were just as beautiful." (19) William did not let shortages obstruct his life. Building toys for himself since he was a child, William overcame the lack of material with clever improvision. For example, during the famine, his family carefully rationed food so that they would survive. Another instance of William's clever thinking was his proficiency in the junkyard; skillfully wielding makeshift tools, he was able to build his dream.

Also, William had little encouragement, constantly discouraged by disbelief from his village. He was told to, "Go ahead... waste your time" (172) during his project, but his resolve held. Unwaveringly working towards his goals, William faced the lack of material resources with little encouragement, overcoming failed projects, tools, and supplies himself. This was another major obstacle: he was told that his dreams were hopeless, but he never surrendered, even when lacking emotional support. When taunted by others, "That's right,' I said. "I'm lazy, misla, but I know what I'm doing and soon all of you will see!" (198) Then, William accomplished feats that were almost impossible in his impoverished in his village. Strong with his tenacity, William managed to deflect hardships with determination and improvision.

Overcoming hardships with determination and cleverness, William Kamkawba from The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwaba possessed such brilliance to conquer the steep obstacles of deprivation from education. Obstacles, like shadows, can be illuminated with brilliance and willpower. If we were to rid the shadows in our lives with brightness generated by ourselves, we make way for satisfaction and success, surrounding ourselves with green grass.