Lighting the way: How you can help Downers Grove-based Watts of Love fight global poverty
Bad things happen in the dark.
Not only are hours of productivity, business, and study time lost, but there are more predators prowling around in the night.
Families try to get by with kerosene lamps, but these release toxic fumes into the air and result in accidental burns, especially among children.
According to the organization Watts of Love, based in Downers Grove, nearly 1 billion people around the world struggle in darkness.
Watts of Love serves the poorest of the poor in developing nations. People the group helps often have little or no education and lack confidence that their lives can improve. Watts of Love instills that confidence by connecting them with resources, skills, and knowledge they can use to realize stability and self-reliance.
Esther Scheele, executive assistant for Watts of Love, discusses the organization and its upcoming Light Up the World 2020 Virtual Race 5K, 10K and 13.1 Half Marathon.
Q. What is Watts of Love? Give a brief overview of what the organization does and who you serve.
A. Watts of Love gives people clean, renewable solar lights to lift themselves out of the darkness of poverty. We believe that financial literacy is the key to ending global poverty.
Watts of Love designed our multipurpose light with the end user in mind, providing a long-lasting, durable, waterproof, and bright (275 lumens) light. We designed the light with a stronger solar-powered battery so it should last up to - if not more than - 10 years.
Light is a simple asset that provides more hours for work and study, increased safety and security, and improved health and longevity by eliminating smoke inhalation and kerosene pollution and their associated financial, health, and environmental costs.
Watts of Love changes lives and alleviates poverty in the poorest, hardest to reach places in the world.
Q. Where do the majority of your donations come from?
A. We have a great community of monthly supporters who have helped Watts of Love grow, as well as some modest corporate donors.
We also have committed people who have traveled with us to help distribute light because they have seen the tremendous impact. They have caught the vision and importance of light to come alongside us to help bring a brighter future for so many around the world.
Q. How many people per year do you serve?
A. Every year we are able to serve more and more people. In 2019, we were able to distribute 15,000 lights x 7 people per household, which equals 105,000 people.
With an average of seven people per household (according to an NYU study and to Population Facts by the UN, 2017), we are impacting around 100,000 people per year. Our goal is to scale and increase this number every year.
Q. What are some of your programs?
A. We have a 1,000-day scaling plan in Malawi to empower and equip communities with the initial resources they need for long-term saving financially and hope for the future.
Malawi is the fourth poorest nation and has 50% of its population living below the poverty line and 25 percent living in extreme poverty.
Our program is to help families to be sustainable. Sustainability refers both to the ability of families to maintain economic self-sufficiency and the use of renewable energy resources, not dependence on limited lumber and kerosene supplies.
Families are able to save money to purchase food, pay for education, and invest in something sustainable (such as animals).
Many people in these communities are innumerate, so financial literacy is usually a novel concept for them. We emphasize the importance of compound savings and of redirecting funds used to purchase kerosene toward investing in livestock, for their own sustenance and to breed and sell on the market.
Q. Tell us about The Light Up the World 2020 Virtual Race 5K, 10K and 13.1 Half Marathon. How does it work?
A. People can choose their distance to walk or run, raise money to bring light and hope to families around the world, and then run/walk their distance between Aug. 21 and Sept. 4. They'll receive a medal and fundraising rewards in that time
Q. How can people participate?
A. Registration for the Light Up the World 2020 Virtual Race 5K, 10K and 13.1 Half Marathon is open. The registration fee is $50.
Registration information, including additional details about the event, are available at https://support.wattsoflove.org/event/light-up-the-world-2020/e290608 and wattsoflove.org.
Q. How can readers help if they can't participate in the event?
A. Share this event! Talk about the 1 billion people who live without any access to electricity.
Q. What else would like readers to know?
A. That every $50 brings a light into a home for a family with an average of seven people per household. That's an amazing impact. Our lights provide up to seven years of light and seven years of savings from kerosene or batteries.
• 1 light = $155/year of kerosene savings (GOGLA, 2018)
• 15,000 lights/year x $155 savings = $2,325,000 in savings for one year.
We designed a simple and effective empowerment model to help people develop solutions to escape the complexities of poverty.
Communities learn how to use savings and shatter expectations in business and life in a short amount of time.
We enable families to set new standards of success for generations to come.
Light Up the World 2020 Virtual Race
Who: Benefits Watts of Love in Downers Grove
When: Aug. 21 through Sept. 4
Cost: $50
Register: https://support.wattsoflove.org/event/light-up-the-world-2020/e290608 and wattsoflove.org