By Amina Ali
A group is cycling from Leicester to Amsterdam in just three days to support a charity and raise money to rebuild homes in Syria.
Soulymane Abdulmolla and his two friends, who run Waves of Positivity, decided to embark on the venture following a camping trip in 2021 where the temperature dropped to below freezing overnight.
Abdulmolla said: “We kind of got a taste of what it felt like to be homeless, obviously we had shelter, but we were so cold that the condensation inside the tent was creating a layer of ice.
“We wanna make sure that we’re trying to prevent other people from going through that.”
The cycling aspect was inspired by a 24-hour trip that he and his cousins took to Paris.
He added: “This year, before Ramadan, we were planning our events and they (my friends) brought it back up again. I suggested to allow other people to join us, and make an event out of it.”
The group are setting off on August 26 and hoping to arrive in Amsterdam, the “capital city for bikes in Europe”, by August 29.
As it’s a tough challenge which requires intense training, Abdulmolla said: “You have to be self-motivated. As a group it’s easier, you can lean on one another and rely on one another to make it easier.”
Even if you can’t take part in the cycle, many fundraising events are being planned such as a charity car wash, a barbecue, mosque collections and bake sales.
“Whatever other ideas people have throughout the next couple of months, whatever we can implement, we’ll implement,” he said.
The initiative is to provide functional and safe housing for the families that have been displaced after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria.
To learn more or take part, visit the Waves of Positivity website and you can click HERE to donate.
