Malawi: A better future with light
By Anne Preckel
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with over half of the population living in poverty. In rural areas in particular, the population is malnourished and has hardly any electricity.
The ‘Watts of Love’ project, which co-operates with Catholic nuns and focuses on sustainability and helping people help themselves, has brought about a change, and with one simple idea: where there is light, there is development.
Small light, big impact
"The project has really improved people's lives, it has triggered development," marvels Sr Bernadette, Superior General of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Rosary (MSHR).
As part of the ‘Watts of love’ initiative, Sr. Bernadette coordinates 15 nuns who train the local population in the poorest areas of Malawi to use solar lamps.
"The most important thing is the concept of saving," says the nun, pointing out that many people in Malawi are unfamiliar with this. Thanks to the lamps, they now have the opportunity to put money aside that they would otherwise spend on candles, paraffin or batteries.
That is the first step.
Working like never before possible
The solar lamps, easy to use and versatile, are small - but their impact is huge.
They bring light to areas without electricity, making it possible to cook, work in the fields and sell goods even in the early morning or late evening hours. Thanks to the light, there are fewer accidents with vermin, and the newly gained independence from daylight opens up new sources of income for people who previously lived from hand to mouth.
"The lamp helped us create a fish pond," shares one woman, pointing to a small lake with brown water that lies square in the landscape. "We also use the lamps to make sure no one steals the fish at night."
Another woman points to her foot-operated sewing machine and says that, now, she always sews clothes and school uniforms early in the morning.
Meanwhile, other villagers work in the fields at night, when it is less hot, with solar lamps strapped around their foreheads or doing other agricultural work.
From seed to water pump
However, light alone is not enough to pave the way to a better future.
Sister Bernadette explains the approach that Watts of Love calls the ‘, and describe as an integral part of the programme is education in order to break the cycle of poverty. People learn about saving and entrepreneurial thinking: What can you do with the new light? What will it enable you to do? Do you dream of your own chicken, tomatoes or an education for your child?
Thanks to such training, which is part of the project, people develop small ‘business plans’.
Nelson, for example, has been able to build up his own livestock since 2020. Previously, his family was poor and had no animals, but today things are different.
"My goat has already given birth several times,’ says Nelson, expressing how it has helped his family. "I was able to sell some goats and can now pay school fees for my children. And the goat here will soon have kids again."
Another villager was able to save 7,000 kwacha thanks to the solar lamp from Watts of Love. He used this money to buy watermelon seeds, and, later, he used the proceeds from the harvest to buy a water pump to irrigate the watermelon field. "Something like this would never have been possible for him before the light," he says with satisfaction.
Not at mercy of daylight
The Watts of Love lamps have significantly improved the lives of people in many places in Malawi, reports Sr Maria, who has already conducted training sessions in several villages.
"It's really surprising!" she said, "The light has really become a source of income. It's not just individuals who are better off, but entire communities."
Learn from and inspire one another
The fact that people learn from each other also plays a role.
If one family was doing better, others followed suit. There is now more food in villages, fewer snakes and scorpions, huts with light and children who study in the evenings after dinner. There is also more freedom because people can decide for themselves when they want to work.
Who receives the lamps first in the villages is decided during a dialogue with the chiefs of the village communities, explained Sr. Bernadette. "Since the chiefs know the people, they help to identify the most needy in their communities. Then the sisters go out, distribute the lights and train people how to use them."
Compassion, trust, efficiency
It is no coincidence that women religious from Malawi are the link between the US non-profit organisation and the locals.
The sisters are a kind of guarantee, Watts of Love representatives tell Vatican Radio, and that is because they are on the side of the poor and have no economic or political interests of their own.
Their deep connection with members of the communities guarantees that the aid programme is applied "with compassion, trust and efficiency," according to the Watts of Love organisation, which trains the nuns for the aid work.
As Sr Bernadette reports, the Congregation of the Holy Rosary in Malawi is also benefiting from this cooperation. Thanks to Watts of Love, villages that previously received no help are being reached and new contacts are being made with the local population.
The Sisters of the Holy Rosary work in Malawi in the dioceses of Mzuzu, Karonga, Zomba and the Archdiocese of Lilongwe. The congregation was founded in 1951 by the African missionary Marcel Saint Denis, priest of the Missionaries of Africa, in northern Malawi.
Projects in 55 countries worldwide
Thanks to the congregation's cooperation with Watts of Love, more than 9,000 households in Malawi have already been supplied with light and the livelihoods of families have been noticeably improved. Watts of Love runs similar projects in a total of 55 countries worldwide in cooperation with local and church partners.
According to the organisation, this can save over 23 million dollars a year as well as large amounts of CO2.
Watts of Love was founded in 2009 by American Nancy Economou.
When the mother of five sons saw a girl on a trip to the Philippines in 2009 whose face had been completely burnt by a paraffin light, she took heart and created Watts of Love as a way out of the cycle of misery and hardship.
"Light," Ms. Economou is convinced, "is the quickest way out of poverty."
The organisation, which is mainly financed by donations, has been able to establish a global aid network since 2009 and is seeking contact with religious communities.
Help by donating
You can donate to the project .
(The video was produced with audio and video material from ‘Watts of Love’, which was obtained by the organisation during a trip to Malawi in 2025.)
Deborah Castellano Lubov contributed to this report
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