The thought that an hour of your valuable time can and will help someone else moving forward with their life is indeed very appealing. I never realized back in 2016 that the project I was about to start would continue for so many years and that it is now about to continue into its fifth consecutive year. This is not a blog post about running as such, training as a whole nor about what shoes to use or the difference in let’s say the drop between shoe x or z, the things I normally write about. Thi

Due to the 2020 corona pandemic and the different regulations put on the society during the spring of 2020, we decided to pause all our activities from March moving forward. In retrospect, this was perhaps a very necessary and a well-deserved break from what we as a community and I as a person have been working on for so many years. It has provided valuable time for reflection on what we do and what has been accomplished.

During the last four years Inlöparna Värmdö has met almost every Wednesday during the period August to June, no matter the weather. 5, 10 or sometimes more than 20 people turns up in order to create a more positive environment for integrating new people into the Swedish society and to provide a way to immigrants to speak Swedish with ordinary people, talking about ordinary things. For some, it can be a very different experience all of the sudden being surrounded by strangers willing to communicate and being interested in their life and their history. Listening to their first attempts in speaking Swedish, try to understand our society and taking their first steps trying to become a part of Sweden.

So, what does the running or walking bring to the table? The number of positive effects the actual running brings to the human brain are probably not even possible to count. Many of the people I have met during the years have gone through both civil war, imprisonment, torture and escape and movement, and exercise through running have a positive on the mental wellbeing. What we have seen is also, that dressed in running clothes, people are unarmed and become more equal. The purpose has also been not on the exercise itself but the combination of exercise and the possibility to speak Swedish. People can do the actual exercise when and where they want but it is the combination of the two things that is the key.

I have unfortunately met many people who are a bit scared of attending our gatherings since they are, in their own words, shy and a bit nervous meeting new people but we try to encourage them to just show up and taking from there. In some cases the pure introduction of one another is enough, asking simple questions how you day has been, have you been to school, do you have any kids etc. etc. are the first steps towards making that persons’ way into the society easier.

During our 4 years of running and walking we have met approximately 200 newcomers, some have attended once and many have continued coming, either running or walking. I often ask the people I meet if they do any other exercises and in many cases this is the first step towards putting training on you daily agenda and many people realize that they feel much happier and sleep much better the days they have been training. They also say that they are more motivated in school and that they have more energy.

Has there been any other positive effects as a result of our project? Some people have managed to get flats or a place to stay through the contacts they have made, and some people have managed to get jobs or workplace training. However, these parts have been trickier to fulfill then one hoped for and the corona pandemic made it even harder.

So, the fifth year is around the corner and our first session is due on the 19th August. The motivation to continue another year lay in the positive effects seen and the happiness in peoples faces both when we meet and specially after we have met and this is why I continue working with something I really believe in.

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