In Malawi, magic is feared and revered as one of the strongest forces in life. Everyone has stories of ghosts or magic doctors, and people develop superstitions all the time. However, for William Kamkwamba, magic does not govern the forces of life. His father, Trywell, teaches him that magic is to be respected, but that it is not all-powerful, and that sometimes, it is more useful to take a practical route towards a solution than a supernatural one.
As William Kamkwamba grows up, he demonstrates curiosity and ingenuity. From a young age, he asks questions about how things work, especially machinery and technology, but he isn't always given satisfactory answers. He turns to school, and particularly science, to give him the answers that he craves. In addition to education, he also leads a normal childhood, often hunting with his dog Khamba or playing with his friend Geoffrey and Gilbert. His curiosity seems to extend to them, and William enlists his cousin Geoffrey to help run a radio repair business, foreshadowing his ingenuity to come.
However, William's childhood does not lack in tragedy. At a young age, he experiences the death of relatives, such as his Uncle John, Geoffrey's father, and experiences a famine in which the government refuses to lend aid to its people. The famine ages William considerably, as well as his fellow friends, and also prevents his continued education, as his family's income is heavily reliant on agriculture and produce. It is a dark time for Malawi, and many people die from hunger, but he and his family survive and continue to live their lives.
Following the famine of 2000, William tries to go to school, but because of his family's inability to afford school fees, he is ultimately unable to continue his education. In his frustration, he begins to frequent the library with his friend Gilbert, and learns of turbines and windmills. Previously, William witnessed the power of the bicycle dynamo, where the mechanical motion of the bicyclist could power a small light; he decides to apply this concept to harness the power of the wind.
In the process of trying to build a windmill, William enlists the help of all the people around him, from his childhood friends Geoffrey and Gilbert to his bachelor cousin Charity. Although he is heavily doubted by his community, he uses scrap materials to fashion a wind turbine and makes his own windmill, powering a small lightbulb in his room and eventually powering his home with electricity.
Shortly after building this windmill, it garners the attention of reporters and journalists. Eventually, the international community takes notice of William's project and he is invited to various conferences and museums around the world to talk about his experience of building a windmill from scratch. He is exposed to more and more technology, and as he is introduced to these machines, he brings them back to his local community, improving the lives of everyone around him.
