Making Friends in New Places
How Mohamed has made friends and connected with his new community
May 06, 2025
A 2024 study found rates of loneliness as high as 47%, and social isolation as high as 65% for asylum seekers. This is significantly higher than population norms.
Mohamed moved from Sudan in 2024 as an asylum seeker and joined GoodGym within weeks. Eager to meet people, learn more about London and contribute to his new community, Mohamed has averaged a good deed every 3 days since joining.
I was so happy and feel lucky to have joined the Ealing team, meeting leaders like Kash, Sevan and Steph. They’re amazing.
Within weeks of arriving in the UK in late 2024, Mohamed had joined GoodGym and threw himself into anything the group had listed. Quickly he became a familiar face and averaged a GoodGym session every few days for the first 4 months, bringing his total to more than 50 in that time.
I really like GoodGym and the work I can do.
In Sudan, Mohamed was an avid Crossfitter and volleyball player. Both hobbies he had to put on hold, alongside his career as a network engineer as he awaited news from the Home Office on his eligibility to work, a common challenge for asylum seekers. Rather than stay idle, Mohamed decided to engage his new community by attending as many GoodGym sessions as possible. By doing so, he's made friends, learnt more about his new home in London and gained a sense of pride and accomplishment for contributing to the community - all whilst staying fit and healthy, keeping up with the active lifestyle he was used to in Sudan.
Mohamed’s running fitness has skyrocketed since joining GoodGym, now running 2 - 4 times per week. In less than 6 months he has built his fitness to comfortably running 10+ kilometres, and is considering taking on his first half marathon and marathon soon. Mohamed attributes his rapid increase in fitness to his abundance of time, but as he smashes each good deed milestone as part of GoodGym its clear Mohamed also cares deeply for the people and places around him.
One of the best motivations is to help change people's lives for the better and bring them happiness. I am new in the UK, I have only wanted to have a positive impact on the society I’ve come to love. I want to belong here and contribute to it.
Mohameds favourite sessions are with Achilles International, an organisation for blind runners, and Care4Calais, preparing clothing bags for refugees. At sessions with Achilles International, volunteers are tethered with a blind runner to help them run freely, the volunteer acts as their pacer as well as steering the couple out of harms way when necessary. Mohamed notes both organisations are rewarding because of the direct impact he can have on others, highlighting Tamsin, the leader for Care4Calais who he describes as "a remarkable woman doing incredible and important work to support refugees".
Since discovering GoodGym Mohamed has made the most of a community at his fingertips and become part of something bigger than himself. His kindness has impacted 100s of people, and he's opened himself up to meet other like-minded people. He describes feeling ‘happy, and ‘excited’ anytime new sessions are posted on the GoodGym website that he can get involved with.
Mohamed reflects on his short but positive time in the UK, and offers some advice for others looking to combat loneliness when moving somewhere new.
My advice is for more people to join GoodGym. You need to be happy, and when I’m doing something for others, I’m happy.
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