William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind

譯者: Xu Jiang 審譯者: Marie Wu

Thank you.

謝謝大家！

Two years ago, I stood on the TED stage in Arusha, Tanzania.

兩年前，我站在坦尚尼亞阿魯夏的TED講台上，

I spoke very briefly about one of my proudest creations.

我非常簡要地介紹了一項我最自豪的發明，

It was a simple machine that changed my life.

那是一台簡易、但卻改變了我的一生的機器。

Before that time,

在那之前，

I had never been away from my home

我從未離開過

in Malawi.

我在馬拉威的家。

I had never used a computer.

我也沒使用過電腦，

I had never seen an Internet.

我更從來沒有見過網際網路。

On the stage that day, I was so nervous.

那天在講台上，我好緊張，

My English lost,

一句英文也想不起來，

I wanted to vomit.

我只想吐。

(Laughter)

(觀眾笑聲)

I had never been surrounded by so many azungu,

（笑聲）從來沒有這麼多阿贊古--

white people.

也就是白人圍著我。

(Laughter)

(觀眾笑聲)

There was a story I wouldn't tell you then.

那時我心裡有一個故事沒有對大家講，

But well, I'm feeling good right now.

但是，我覺得現在時機對了，

I would like to share that story today.

所以今天，我要跟大家分享這個故事。

We have seven children in my family.

我家裡有七個孩子。

All sisters, excepting me.

除了我，全都是女孩。

This is me with my dad when I was a little boy.

這是我和我父親在我小時候的合照。

Before I discovered the wonders of science,

在我發現科學的奧妙之前，

I was just a simple farmer

我只是個普通農民，

in a country of poor farmers.

來自於一個盡是貧窮農民的國家。

Like everyone else, we grew maize.

跟其他所有人一樣，我們種玉米。

One year our fortune turned very bad.

有一年，我們的收成很差。

In 2001 we experienced an awful famine.

在2001年，我們經歷了可怕的饑荒。

Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death.

在五個月之內，所有馬拉威人都開始挨餓，甚至死亡。

My family ate one meal per day, at night.

我們家每天只吃一餐--晚餐，

Only three swallows of nsima for each one of us.

每個人只有三口青玉米麵。

The food passes through our bodies.

食物吃進我們的身體，

We drop down to nothing.

我們卻沒有排洩。

In Malawi, the secondary school,

在馬拉威，要上中學

you have to pay school fees.

是要交學費的。

Because of the hunger, I was forced to drop out of school.

因為饑荒，我被迫輟學。

I looked at my father

我看著我的父親，

and looked at those dry fields.

看著乾涸的土地。

It was the future I couldn't accept.

這不是我能接受的未來。

I felt very happy to be at the secondary school,

以前在學校我覺得非常快樂。

so I was determined to do anything possible

所以我決定盡一切可能

to receive education.

去接受教育。

So I went to a library.

所以我去圖書館。

I read books, science books, especially physics.

我閱讀書籍，自然科學的書，特別是物理方面的。

I couldn't read English that well.

我的英文不是很好，

I used diagrams and pictures

所以我只能靠文字週圍的圖表和圖片

to learn the words around them.

來學習文字。

Another book put that knowledge in my hands.

有一本書把我需要的知識教給了我，

It said a windmill could pump water and generate electricity.

那就是風車可以抽水和發電。

Pump water meant irrigation,

能抽水意味著能灌溉。

a defense against hunger,

那就能對抗饑荒，

which we were experiencing by that time.

而那正是我們那時所遭遇到的問題。

So I decided I would build one windmill for myself.

所以，我決定自己製作一座風車。

But I didn't have materials to use,

但是我沒有材料，

so I went to a scrap yard

所以我去廢料場，

where I found my materials.

找我所需要的材料。

Many people, including my mother,

很多人，包括我的媽媽在內，

said I was crazy.

都說我瘋了。

(Laughter)

(觀眾笑聲)

I found a tractor fan,

我找到了一個拖拉機風扇，

shock absorber, PVC pipes.

一個避震器，一些PCV管。

Using a bicycle frame

我用一輛自行車的車架

and an old bicycle dynamo,

和一台舊的自行車發電機，

I built my machine.

開始製作我的機器。

It was one light at first.

一開始只有一盞燈。

And then four lights,

後來變成四盞燈，

with switches, and even a circuit breaker,

還加裝了一些開關，然後甚至有個斷路器，

modeled after an electric bell.

那是在收到電費收入後才裝的。

Another machine pumps water

另一台機器則用來

for irrigation.

抽水灌溉。

Queues of people start lining up at my house

後來開始有人在我家門口排隊，

(Laughter)

(觀眾笑聲)

to charge their mobile phone.

要我為他們的手機充電。

(Applause)

(觀眾掌聲)

I could not get rid of them.

這些人趕都趕不走。

(Laughter)

(觀眾笑聲)

And the reporters came too,

後來記者也來了，

which lead to bloggers

然後是部落客，

and which lead to a call from something called TED.

再然後我就接到什麼TED的電話。

I had never seen an airplane before.

我以前從來沒有見過飛機，

I had never slept in a hotel.

我也從來沒有住過旅館。

So, on stage that day in Arusha,

所以，在阿魯沙上台的那一天，

my English lost,

我一句英文也想不起來，

I said something like,

我好像說了這樣的話，

"I tried. And I made it."

“我嚐試了，而且我成功了。”

So I would like to say something

所以我想對所有

to all the people out there like me

像我一樣的人說，

to the Africans, and the poor

對所有非洲人說，

who are struggling with your dreams.

對所有正在為夢想而奮鬥的窮苦人們說，

God bless.

願上帝保佑你們。

Maybe one day you will watch this on the Internet.

或許有一天，你會在網路上看到這段影片，

I say to you, trust yourself and believe.

我要告訴你，要相信你自己並堅持信念，

Whatever happens, don't give up.

無論發生什麼事，都不要放棄。

Thank you.

謝謝大家。

(Applause)

(觀眾掌聲)