Peace and Happiness for a Troubled City
It should come as no surprise to those who know her that Kim Bey has made it her mission to empower the community. A dynamo of determination, she grew up in a small Malaysian village, facing daily challenges that would shape her lifelong drive.
“Growing up with eight siblings was fun, yet challenging,” says Bey. “We were very poor. There was very limited opportunity. My wildest dream, when I was a kid, was to go to America to attend college. I thought, ‘That’s going to be my ticket to happiness.’”
Bey set the goal and made it happen. Stepping off the plane with one suitcase and an acceptance letter, the young dreamer created her new life: college degree, marriage, two children and her own business in Washington, DC.
She was busy and happy. But many around her were not.
“I was still missing something. Yes, I have a good life, but I look around—so many people are not happy,” reflects Bey. “I’m seeing people arguing, people fighting. You see crime and riots happening here.”
She talked to fellow business owners who told her that it was “so bad out there” that they didn’t know what to do. They felt helpless.
“That is when I realized how bad things are—actually worse than I thought. And that hit home. This is my home. America has given me the beautiful life I have. What have I done to give back to help America?” says Bey.
She decided to do something about it. As a first action, she mailed out 5,000 copies of The Way to Happiness booklet, the common-sense road map to a better life, knowing that the principles in this booklet had calmed the chaos in many other communities. “Unhappiness usually happens when you violate one or more of these precepts,” says Bey.
Next, Bey enlisted volunteers, and together they distributed boxes of The Way to Happiness to 1,300 shop owners in high-crime areas. Entrepreneurs were thrilled to give these booklets to their customers because they finally had something positive they could do.
But with someone committing a violent crime every two hours in DC, Bey saw the police needed help. She introduced DC police officers to The Way to Happiness as a tool to help their community. She explained how youth are told to “be good,” but they have no idea what that entails. What does that mean? How is it done? “This book,” she says, “gives them the reasoning so they own the decision.”
“That is when I realized how bad things are—actually worse than I thought. And that hit home. This is my home. America has given me the beautiful life I have. What have I done to give back to help America?”
Through her energetic grass-roots movement, Bey and her team have held over 40 events with the police department to fight crime and promote peace in the neighborhoods. As a result of this successful collaboration, the Chief of Police invited Bey to speak about the 21 precepts laid out in the booklet to youth in city schools.
Today, TWTH DC works with betterment groups like No Slide Zone, whose purpose is to have a city free of violence and murder. “The ideal partner is a partner like TWTH because of the blueprint it provides for the individuals that we are working with,” says Dr. Warees Majeed of No Slide Zone.
Over 97,500 TWTH booklets have been distributed, and there has been a 16 percent reduction in crime.
“We have created a movement and we have created a change. People now have hope. They know happiness is possible. It’s a big cultural change. And that’s the change that we need to have a better future,” says Bey. See the whole story at Scientology.TV/KBey.
RESTORE MORAL VALUES
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 booklets and curriculum material.
