Dhin Mohammed

The author and his colleague have reduced the original book of the same name, which tells the narrative of a creative and caring young man growing up in Malawi during a time of great adversity. This updated version of Kamkwamba's story is just as engrossing as the first, and it continues to communicate truths that are both troubling and uplifting with equanimity. Kamkwamba recalls his childhood in Masitala, a small rural community where big families of subsistence farmers lived in huts with no running water or electricity. Until December 2000, Kamkwamba's life resembled an African version of Sterling North's idyllic early-twentieth-century scenes in Rascal: soccer with plastic bag balls; juicy mangoes and crunchy grasshoppers; storytelling by kerosene lamp; experiments with old radio parts; loyal friends and faithful pet. A sudden famine is caused by a perfect storm of deforestation, governmental changes, flooding, and drought. Readers are not spared in the text.The consequences of hunger and extreme poverty on humans and animals There are, however, several discussions of how and why power-generating inventions function, and chapters about making tools out of nearly nothing are reminiscent of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series. Kamkwamba's eventual fabrication of a windmill to provide lighting for his family's home is nothing short of miraculous.