Nancy Economou was a stay-at-home mom with 5 sons. She was a sales representative for Cartier. Her customers were the top 1% of society. A business trip her husband had scheduled for the Philippines changed her life’s journey.
She went with her husband on a feeding mission. A young girl, who came for something to eat, had burns and scars on her faces. Nancy found out she was burned by a kerosene lamp which the family used for light. There was limited electricity in the area served by the food mission.
When she returned home, Nancy shared her experience with a friend and what she wanted to accomplish. She developed a solar powered light. The light was waterproof, dust proof, and shock proof. The lights should last 10 years.
With the money saved on kerosene, families could use the money for other essentials and break the cycle of poverty. Rather than just giving lights away, families are taught how to use the time saved because their days were extended.
Nancy formed a non-profit called Watts of Love to help fund the manufacture of the lights and the outreach to those who need them. Watts of Love now services other areas of the world. The lights have become a way to escape poverty.
Giving hope to others can be both rewarding and challenging. Raising five boys while running a global foundation is perhaps the definition of both rewarding and challenging. On one trip to Haiti, Nancy and one of her boys were giving lights to the handicapped. She saw her son carry a handicapped woman to receive her light. Her son has decided to become a doctor.
To date, Watts of Love has distributed 77,554 lights in 52 countries. A total of 542,878 lives have been impacted and family income has raised by 15%. In addition, nearly 330 million hours of education have been provided.
Those who provide hope to others do so often at a great risk to themselves. But the risk is worth it because they find their destiny in life.
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“I think we need to look at our lives, no matter what, there are always connections and we have an opportunity to believe that this desire was placed inside of you for a greater purpose.” – Nancy Economou