William Kamkwamba spoke at TEDGlobal 2007, as a shy young man who’d built his family a windmill from scrap. His story captured the world’s attention. Today he walked onstage with confidence to tell his story from that point to this.

@herbkim Google ‘William Kamkwamba’ – sat next to him at dinner last night having no idea he was gonna blow me & the TED audience away this morning

@CosmoCat William Kamkwamba telling how he decided to built his own wind-powered pump to get water and save himself and his family from starving

@beckyblanton Michael Kamkwamba had a dream, made it happen, self-taught in libraries – built his own windmill from scrap. Hope always finds a way.

@frogdesign And the crowd goes wild. Incredible story about hope and invention in Africa from William Kamkwamba.

@ruthannharnisch #TED Fellow William Kamkwamba tells his powerful story – you’ll have to buy his book, “The Boy WHo Harnessed The Wind”http://bit.ly/OQPUG

Photo: William Kamkwamba at TEDGlobal 2009, Session 7: “Radical development,” July 23, 2009, in Oxford, UK. Credit: TED / James Duncan Davidson