Becoming a responsible global citizen may sound like a daunting or overwhelming goal.  However, for many of us, it just naturally happens when we are simply pursing our passion to do something good in the world.  A great example is William Kamkwamba, a young Malawian inventor who became a responsible global citizen without even realizing it. 

William was determined to improve the conditions in the impoverished and famine-affected rural community where he lived in Malawi, a country where electricity and running water are considered luxuries.   He built a windmill out of scrap metal, tractor parts and bike pieces to bring electricity and irrigation to his community.  He did this as a 14-year-old who had to drop out of school due to lack of funds to cover the annual $80 school fees.  He continued his education on his own, teaching himself physics and engineering by reading books from a very small USAID-funded library in his community.  As he rummaged through piles of scrap metal, tinkered with rusted bikes, studied the library books he so cherished, and dealt with the extreme hunger that was affecting the whole region, he stayed focused on his windmill project, determined to make it work.  Community members thought he was crazy and although his parents were supportive, no one understood what he was trying to accomplish.  He worked hard to build his invention and it took him many tries to succeed.

His invention ended up working and his village now has potable water and electricity as a result of his windmill.  William, now 23, is working to bring these luxuries to other similar communities in Malawi while also supporting school improvement projects in his own village.  As a result of his windmill, he gained national recognition as an inventor and a young African leader.  He is currently attending college in the United States.  He says he will take his education and return to Malawi to continue to work to improve conditions in his home country while at the same time empowering other young Africans to think creatively and persistently about seemingly insurmountable problems in their own communities.     

After reading William’s story, I am once again inspired by what one person can accomplish.  William had very few resources at his disposal.  He did not have access to even a tiny percentage of the resources typically accessible to Americans his age – informational resources, infrastructure resources, educational resources or financial resources.  But what he had in abundance was his willingness to think outside the box and to dream big.  He had confidence in himself and a very strong will to succeed.  He didn’t let others’ negative feedback stop him nor was he paralyzed by a fear of failure.  He did fail with many of his attempts but rather than stopping, he learned from his mistakes and tried again.  William’s story is a great call to action for young people around the world.  If each one of us thought about an issue that is important to us or that we are passionate about and we made it our priority to work on creative ways to address that problem, if we were persistent and focused on making a difference, think about how much better our world would be!  Even though we all have moments where we feel overwhelmed by the many things we would like to change or improve in the world around us, imagine we are all small pieces in a much larger puzzle.  We are all working independently but together to make the world a better place.  Young people as responsible global citizens have such a great opportunity to make a difference!!  

If you are interested in learning more about William’s inspiring story, consider reading his book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind or watch his short TED lecture.