Homicides Plummet as The Way to Happiness Campaign Rises in Ecuador
Captain Marcelo Montenegro, Police Operations Commander in the Ecuadorian parish of Calderón, has always considered uplifting his country “a passion.”
So when a Colombian colleague introduced him to The Way to Happiness, he saw it as a chance to serve his people by addressing their troubles at the root.
“Drugs, alcohol, violence and crime are only a consequence of the lack of values,” he says. “We can strengthen our society with more knowledge, more values… so that other social problems will automatically disappear.”
Accordingly, Captain Montenegro began The Way to Happiness delivery to some of the most dangerous gangs in Ecuador—among them the infamous Latin Kings. Several abandoned their life of crime to help others with The Way to Happiness.
They joined Captain Montenegro and members of local government, churches, and the police force to conduct broad scale booklet distribution in Calderón over the course of many months.
“One officer, so inspired he couldn’t hold back the tears, shared that this was the first time he understood the true purpose of the police.”
Captain Montenegro next turned to training the police force. If they exemplified and applied the 21 precepts, he reasoned, they could transform Ecuador. One officer, so inspired he couldn’t hold back the tears, shared that this was the first time he understood the true purpose of the police.
To date The Way to Happiness has been placed in the hands of more than one million Ecuadorians.
FACTS
VIOLATIONS
Precept #8: Do Not Murder is violated around the globe:
11
PERCENT
of the global population is responsible for nearly half of its homicides.
6.2
PEOPLE
for every 100,000 on Earth are murdered, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
5 TO 8X
HIGHER
than the murder rate in Europe and Asia is that of the Americas.
15,000
PEOPLE
are murdered in the United States each year.
119
PEOPLE
out of every 100,000 are murdered in Caracas, Venezuela, the most dangerous city in the world.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The Way to Happiness Foundation International works to reverse the moral decay of society by restoring trust and honesty through widespread distribution of the 21 precepts. Donations support production and distribution of The Way to Happiness booklet and curriculum materials.
