How can someone find others to take part with them?
Someone is keen to take part in the challenge but is struggling to find others willing to join them, and feels isolated in their enthusiasm. How can they find like-minded people to take part with, or join an existing group?
Answer
Feeling isolated in this kind of enthusiasm is more common than it might seem, and there are several practical ways to find a challenge community.
Reframing the conversation
When friends dismiss the idea as too difficult or impractical, it often helps to shift the conversation away from the physical challenge and towards its deeper purpose.
Start by sharing refugee women’s stories and resilience. Once people understand this is about solidarity and empathy rather than athletic achievement, their perspective often shifts.
Where to look
Looking beyond an immediate friendship group can open things up considerably. Local mosques, madrasahs, halaqas and Islamic societies are a good starting point.
A brief announcement after prayers, or a word with a community leader, can reveal interest that wasn’t obvious at first. Social media and online Islamic communities can help too, through relevant groups and accounts for Muslim women’s activities.
Established charities such as Islamic Relief and Muslim Hands sometimes run larger events using a similar format, and come with a ready-made community of interested people.
Challenge organisers themselves are also worth contacting directly, as they often keep in touch with others in the same area who are interested but haven’t yet found a group.
Muslim women already involved in fitness, hiking or other outdoor activities may also be more receptive, since they’re often drawn to both the physical and the spiritual and charitable side of it.
Building momentum
Starting small is a reasonable way in. Even one other participant is enough to create a working example that can inspire others to join future events. Documenting the experience afterwards can help motivate those who were hesitant the first time round.
Building this kind of community takes patience and persistence, and the right challenge partners often turn up from unexpected places when least expected.