THANKS TO links with the Scotland-Malawi Partnership and the Montgomery Development Education Centre (MDEC) in Aberdeen, International School Aberdeen (ISA) welcomed renowned innovator and author William Kamkwamba to the school today.
William hit the headlines in his home country in 2002 when, aged 14, he used blue gum trees, bicycle parts and locally collected scrap to build a wind turbine to power his family home. His subsequent autobiography: “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” was made into a Netflix film in 2018 and William’s online TedTalks have been viewed more than two million times.
During his time at ISA, William spent time with 180 pupils aged between nine to 14. As well as reading William’s book, the Grade 4 pupils, aged between nine and ten, have been studying Malawi and will use the opportunity to link their learning to their current science topics, electricity and sustainability.
Commenting on the visit, International School Aberdeen Nick Little said: “William embodies many of the values that we want to instil in our students at ISA – perseverance, sustainability, determination, problem solving and improvisation. His talk will be an exemplar of the kind of intercultural learning that we want to offer at ISA.”
The event was also attended by other local schools who have worked with MDEC to learn about William, namely Strathdon School, Elrick Primary School, Kinellar Primary School and Riverbank School.
