TEDGlobal 2009
William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind
William Kamkwamba: Como domei o vento
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Aos 14 anos, em pobreza e fome, um menino Malauiano construiu um moinho de vento para fornecer energia à casa da sua família. Agora, aos 22 anos, William Kamkwamba, que discursa aqui na TED pela segunda vez, partilha a comovente história da invenção que mudou a sua vida.
William Kamkwamba - Inventor
To power his family's home, young William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap -- starting him on a journey detailed in the book and film "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind." Full bio
To power his family's home, young William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap -- starting him on a journey detailed in the book and film "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind." Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
00:15
Two years ago, I stood on the TED stage in Arusha, Tanzania.
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Há dois anos atrás, estive no palco da TED em Arusha, na Tanzânia.
00:19
I spoke very briefly about one of my proudest creations.
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Falei brevemente sobre uma das criações de que mais me orgulho.
00:24
It was a simple machine that changed my life.
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Foi uma máquina simples que mudou a minha vida.
00:28
Before that time,
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Antes disso,
00:30
I had never been away from my home
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nunca tinha estado longe de casa,
00:33
in Malawi.
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no Malauí.
00:36
I had never used a computer.
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Nunca tinha usado um computador.
00:38
I had never seen an Internet.
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Nunca tinha visto a Internet.
00:42
On the stage that day, I was so nervous.
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Em palco, nesse dia, eu estava muito nervoso.
00:47
My English lost,
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Perdi o meu inglês,
00:51
I wanted to vomit.
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e queria vomitar.
00:53
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
00:57
I had never been surrounded by so many azungu,
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Nunca tinha estado rodeado por tantos azungu,
01:01
white people.
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pessoas brancas.
01:03
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
01:06
There was a story I wouldn't tell you then.
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Há uma história que não vos contei na altura.
01:09
But well, I'm feeling good right now.
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Mas estou-me a sentir bem agora,
01:12
I would like to share that story today.
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e gostaria de partilhar essa história hoje.
01:15
We have seven children in my family.
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Temos sete crianças na minha família.
01:17
All sisters, excepting me.
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Todas irmãs, excepto eu.
01:21
This is me with my dad when I was a little boy.
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Isto sou eu com o meu pai quando eu era pequeno.
01:26
Before I discovered the wonders of science,
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Antes de descobrir as maravilhas da ciência,
01:29
I was just a simple farmer
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eu era um simples agricultor,
01:31
in a country of poor farmers.
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num país de agricultores pobres.
01:34
Like everyone else, we grew maize.
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Tal como toda a gente, cultivávamos milho.
01:38
One year our fortune turned very bad.
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Num ano, a nossa sorte transformou-se em azar.
01:43
In 2001 we experienced an awful famine.
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Em 2001 passámos por uma terrível fome.
01:48
Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death.
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Em cinco meses, todos os Malauianos começaram a morrer de fome.
01:55
My family ate one meal per day, at night.
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A minha família comia uma refeição por dia, à noite.
01:59
Only three swallows of nsima for each one of us.
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Apenas três tragos de nsima (papa de milho) para cada um de nós.
02:03
The food passes through our bodies.
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A comida passava pelos nossos corpos.
02:05
We drop down to nothing.
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Perdemos muito peso.
02:09
In Malawi, the secondary school,
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No Malauí, para frequentar a escola secundária,
02:12
you have to pay school fees.
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temos que pagar propinas.
02:14
Because of the hunger, I was forced to drop out of school.
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Por causa da fome, vi-me obrigado a desistir da escola.
02:20
I looked at my father
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Olhei para o meu pai,
02:22
and looked at those dry fields.
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e olhei para aqueles campos secos.
02:24
It was the future I couldn't accept.
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Era um futuro que eu não conseguia aceitar.
02:28
I felt very happy to be at the secondary school,
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Sentia-me muito feliz por estar na escola secundária.
02:32
so I was determined to do anything possible
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Por isso eu estava completamente determinado a fazer tudo o que fosse possível
02:37
to receive education.
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para receber educação.
02:39
So I went to a library.
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Por isso fui a uma biblioteca.
02:41
I read books, science books, especially physics.
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Li livros, livros de ciência, principalmente de Física.
02:45
I couldn't read English that well.
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Não sabia ler inglês lá muito bem.
02:47
I used diagrams and pictures
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Usava os diagramas e as fotografias
02:50
to learn the words around them.
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para aprender as palavras à volta delas.
02:55
Another book put that knowledge in my hands.
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Outro livro pôs esse conhecimento nas minhas mãos.
02:59
It said a windmill could pump water and generate electricity.
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Dizia que um moinho podia bombear água e gerar electricidade.
03:05
Pump water meant irrigation,
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Bombear água significava irrigação.
03:08
a defense against hunger,
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Uma defesa contra a fome,
03:10
which we were experiencing by that time.
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pela qual estávamos a passar nessa altura.
03:14
So I decided I would build one windmill for myself.
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Por isso decidi construir um moinho para mim.
03:18
But I didn't have materials to use,
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Mas não tinha os materiais necessários.
03:21
so I went to a scrap yard
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Por isso fui a uma sucata
03:23
where I found my materials.
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onde encontrei os materiais
03:26
Many people, including my mother,
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Muitas pessoas, incluindo a minha mãe,
03:30
said I was crazy.
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disseram-me que eu era maluco.
03:32
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
03:34
I found a tractor fan,
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Encontrei uma ventoinha de um tractor.
03:36
shock absorber, PVC pipes.
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um amortecedor, canos de PVC.
03:38
Using a bicycle frame
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Usei o esqueleto de uma bicicleta
03:41
and an old bicycle dynamo,
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e um dínamo de bicicleta velho,
03:45
I built my machine.
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e construí a minha máquina.
03:47
It was one light at first.
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Primeiro foi uma lâmpada.
03:50
And then four lights,
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Depois quatro lâmpadas,
03:53
with switches, and even a circuit breaker,
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com interruptores e até um disjuntor,
03:58
modeled after an electric bell.
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modelado a partir de uma conta de electricidade.
04:02
Another machine pumps water
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Outra máquina bombeia água
04:06
for irrigation.
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para irrigação.
04:09
Queues of people start lining up at my house
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Filas de pessoas começaram a formar-se à porta da minha casa
04:12
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
04:14
to charge their mobile phone.
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para carregarem os telemóveis.
04:16
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
04:20
I could not get rid of them.
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Não conseguia ver-me livre deles.
04:22
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
04:24
And the reporters came too,
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E os jornalistas também começaram a aparecer,
04:27
which lead to bloggers
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o que levou aos bloggers.
04:29
and which lead to a call from something called TED.
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que levaram a um telefonema de algo chamado TED.
04:34
I had never seen an airplane before.
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Nunca tinha visto um avião.
04:36
I had never slept in a hotel.
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Nunca tinha dormido num hotel.
04:39
So, on stage that day in Arusha,
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Por isso, em palco nesse dia em Arusha,
04:43
my English lost,
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perdi o meu inglês
04:46
I said something like,
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e disse qualquer coisa como
04:49
"I tried. And I made it."
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"Tentei. E fi-lo."
04:53
So I would like to say something
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Por isso gostaria de dizer uma coisa
04:55
to all the people out there like me
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a todas as pessoas por aí fora, como eu,
04:58
to the Africans, and the poor
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aos africanos e aos pobres,
05:01
who are struggling with your dreams.
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com dificuldades para realizar os seus sonhos.
05:05
God bless.
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Deus vos abençoe.
05:07
Maybe one day you will watch this on the Internet.
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Talvez um dia venham a ver isto na Internet.
05:11
I say to you, trust yourself and believe.
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Digo-vos a vocês: confiem em vocês mesmos e acreditem.
05:16
Whatever happens, don't give up.
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O que quer que aconteça, não desistam.
05:18
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
05:20
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
William Kamkwamba - InventorTo power his family's home, young William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap -- starting him on a journey detailed in the book and film "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind."
Why you should listen
William Kamkwamba, from Malawi, is a born inventor. When he was 14, he built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap, working from rough plans he found in a library book called Using Energy and modifying them to fit his needs. The windmill he built powers four lights and two radios in his family home.
After reading about Kamkwamba on Mike McKay's blog Hactivate (which picked up the story from a local Malawi newspaper), TEDGlobal Conference Director Emeka Okafor spent several weeks tracking him down at his home in Masitala Village, Wimbe, and invited him to attend TEDGlobal on a fellowship. Onstage, Kamkwamba talked about his invention and shared his dreams: to build a larger windmill to help with irrigation for his entire village, and to go back to school.
Following Kamkwamba's moving talk, there was an outpouring of support for him and his promising work. Members of the TED community got together to help him improve his power system (by incorporating solar energy), and further his education through school and mentorships. Subsequent projects have included clean water, malaria prevention, solar power and lighting for the six homes in his family compound; a deep-water well with a solar-powered pump for clean water; and a drip irrigation system. Kamkwamba himself returned to school, and is now attending the African Leadership Academy, a new pan-African prep school outside Johannesburg, South Africa.
Kamkwamba's story is documented in his autobiography, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope. A documentary about Kamkwamba, called William and the Windmill, won the Documentary Feature Grand Jury award at SXSW in 2013 (watch a trailer ). You can support his work and other young inventors at MovingWindmills.org.
William Kamkwamba | Speaker | TED.com