Glimt af Håb · 23. august 2026
– English version further down 👇
I dag har jeg for første gang talt med Léonce på Zoom. Det blev en utrolig oplevelse. For få dage siden var Nakivale for mig navnet på en stor flygtningelejr i Uganda. I dag har stedet fået et menneskes ansigt.
Léonce kom til Nakivale i 2017 sammen med sin mor, onkel og søskende efter at være flygtet fra krigen i Den Demokratiske Republik Congo (DRC). Han var 16 år. Han havde en drøm om at blive læge. Den drøm har han måttet opgive. Men ønsket om at hjælpe andre lever stadig i ham.
Léonce taler både fransk og engelsk, og han begyndte at undervise i engelsk, så andre måske kunne få bedre muligheder i det engelsktalende Uganda. Han fortalte mig, at han fandt sammen med andre unge mennesker i Nakivale, som ligesom ham ønskede at skabe nye muligheder i det samfund, de selv er en del af. I 2021 grundlagde han Hope for Refugees Organisation (H.R.O.) sammen med 30 unge ledere fra Nakivale.
H.R.O. er født ud af Nakivale og skabt til Nakivale. Det er et arbejde, der vokser indefra – båret af mennesker, som selv lever i fællesskabet, kender dets udfordringer og ønsker at skabe nye muligheder for dem, der er en del af det. Sammen arbejder de blandt andet for at give børn adgang til undervisning og for at give kvinder færdigheder og muligheder for at skabe større økonomisk selvstændighed.
Léonce og jeg deler også en interesse for De Tre Principper og forståelsen af, at der findes en medfødt indre trivsel og helhed i mennesker. Gennem de seneste tre år har Dr. Dicken Bettinger været Léonces mentor i denne forståelse. I dag deler Léonce den selv med mennesker i Nakivale, blandt andet kvinder, børn og mennesker, der har oplevet voldsomme traumer.
Léonce beskriver, hvordan mennesker, der har mistet næsten alt, kan få øje på, at det, de har været udsat for, ikke har ødelagt deres indre helhed. For ham er De Tre Principper derfor ikke bare en filosofi, men en forståelse, der kan bringe håb og et nyt syn på dem selv.
Det er deres arbejde – skabt indefra Nakivale af mennesker, der lever der og ønsker at skabe en bedre fremtid.
Jeg har valgt at støtte Léonce og H.R.O.’s arbejde, og Léonce har inviteret mig til at følge med i deres hverdag og fortælle mig mere om det, de gør. Med hans hjælp og tilladelse vil jeg derfor indimellem dele små Glimt af håb.
Ikke fordi jeg ved, hvordan det er at leve i Nakivale.
Det gør jeg ikke.
Men fordi jeg gerne vil lytte til de mennesker, der gør.
For i dag fik jeg øje på noget:
200.000 menneskers liv i en flygtningelejr er næsten umuligt for mig at begribe.
Men jeg kan møde ét menneske og lytte til hans fortælling om livet der.
Kærlig hilsen
Helene – Ledt af Lyset ✨
English version ❤️
>> A glimps of hope in Nakivale <<
Glimpses of Hope · 23 August 2026
Today, I spoke with Léonce on Zoom for the first time. It was an extraordinary experience. Just a few days ago, Nakivale was simply the name of a large refugee settlement in Uganda to me. Today, the place has a human face.
Léonce arrived in Nakivale in 2017 with his mother, uncle and siblings after fleeing the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He was 16 years old. He dreamed of becoming a doctor. It is a dream he has had to give up. But his desire to help others is still very much alive.
Léonce speaks both French and English, and he began teaching English so that others might have better opportunities in English-speaking Uganda. He told me that he joined forces with other young people in Nakivale who, like him, wanted to create new opportunities within the community they are part of. In 2021, he co-founded Hope for Refugees Organisation (H.R.O.) together with 30 young leaders from Nakivale.
H.R.O. was born in Nakivale and created for Nakivale. Its work grows from within the community, led by people who live there, understand its challenges and want to create new opportunities for those who are part of it. Among other things, they work to give children access to education and to provide women with skills and opportunities that can help them achieve greater economic independence.
Léonce and I also share an interest in the Three Principles and the understanding that every human being has an innate wellbeing and wholeness within them. For the past three years, Dr. Dicken Bettinger has been Léonce’s mentor in this understanding. Today, Léonce shares it with people in Nakivale, including women, children and people who have experienced severe trauma.
Léonce describes how people who have lost almost everything can come to see that what they have been through has not destroyed their inner wholeness. For him, the Three Principles are therefore not merely a philosophy, but an understanding that can bring hope and offer a new way of seeing themselves.
This is their work – created from within Nakivale by people who live there and want to help create a better future.
I have chosen to support Léonce and the work of H.R.O., and Léonce has invited me to learn more about their daily lives and the work they are doing. With his help and permission, I will therefore occasionally share small Glimpses of Hope (Glimt af håb).
Not because I know what it is like to live in Nakivale.
I don’t.
But because I want to listen to the people who do.
Today, I realized something:
It is almost impossible for me to comprehend the lives of 200,000 people living in a refugee settlement.
But I can meet one person and listen to his story of life there.
With love,
Helene – Ledt af Lyset ✨