1: The night before

“Actions are judged by their intentions.” (Hadith, Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

The challenge begins in the evening, before anyone has so much as pulled on a boot. The mums arrive, eat, listen and settle down on a hard floor.

This part is about setting the heart right. It asks them to think about why they are here, whom they are doing it for and what it will cost. Then it asks them to sleep, uncomfortably, in the clothes they will walk in.

Arrival

The mums arrive from about 6:30pm. They come wearing their abaya and hijab, with their rucksacks.

A named organiser ticks each mum off the register and checks that her rucksack is packed and labelled. A second organiser shows each mum where to leave her things and where the toilets are.

Make the welcome generous. Some mums will arrive nervous and others buzzing, so offer water and tea while they settle.

Welcome and dinner

At about 7:00pm, the lead organiser welcomes everyone. Say a few words about why the charity is running the challenge and what the evening holds. Open with a short dua and a reminder of the intention.

Dinner follows, a proper meal in good company. This is a charity dinner, like those held across the community. Serve a generous, warm halal meal, and keep it relaxed. It is the last proper meal for a while, and a chance for the mums to get to know each other.

The charity presentation

After dinner, at about 8:00pm, a speaker from the charity addresses the room for twenty to thirty minutes. Choose a woman who can speak with warmth and honesty.

The talk should ground the challenge in the real world. A good talk:

• explains who the charity is and whom it helps;
• tells one or two real stories of displaced women and families, with permission, and shows them as capable people, not just victims;
• gives a few carefully chosen facts that bring the scale into view;
• shows how the mums’ effort and their sponsors’ money will be used;
• links the talk to the day ahead, and makes clear that the challenge is a gesture of solidarity, not a simulation of suffering.

Avoid statistics without stories, and avoid distant, passive language. Take care with content, and do not name real conflicts in ways that could single out a mum in the room. Keep a quiet space ready.

After the talk, leave time for questions. Then pray Isha prayer, together. Follow it with a collective dua for refugees and for the day ahead.

Isha comes in much later in summer. If your date falls then, move the whole evening later, or pray Isha before the talk.

Meeting your guide

At about 9:15pm, the mums are introduced to their guides and their groups. This is a key moment, and it should feel like a beginning.

Each guide meets her group, learns every name and introduces herself. She walks them through the plan for the next day, in outline.

Each group then finds its place on the floor, with a thin mat for every mum. Groups sleep together, side by side.

A short reflection

Before lights out, each guide gathers her group for a brief talk. It should be calm and not heavy, and it should send the mums to sleep with their hearts prepared.

A few simple questions help:

• What are you hoping to find out about yourself tomorrow?
• Who are you doing this for?
• What is one thing you will want to remember?

You might close with the verse that reminds us that this world is a place of testing. “And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient.” (Quran 2:155). It is a promise, not a threat. Hardship is not a sign of abandonment.

Some mums may want to pray tahajjud, the voluntary night prayer, before sleeping. Allow time and space for it.

Lights go out at about 10:30pm. The mums sleep in their clothes, on a thin mat, with their rucksack as a pillow. There are no blankets.

The discomfort is deliberate. It is a small, symbolic echo of having nowhere soft or safe to lay your head: sleeping in your clothes because there is nothing else, or because you fear having to leave at any moment.

It is also real. Some mums will sleep little. Tell them in advance that this is normal and that it is part of the experience.

Safety note. At least two charity volunteers stay awake through the night, in rotation. They know the fire plan and the first-aid kit, and they check the hall regularly. Doors are locked against unwanted visitors, and the exits are clear. Keep the temperature safe. If someone is unwell or cold, she is looked after at once, and a blanket is hers for the asking.

Reflection questions

You might share these with the mums at dinner, or leave them for the morning:

• What does home mean to you? What would you miss most?
• If you had an hour to leave, what would you carry?
• What would carry you through a journey on foot?

The night is short. Next, the early start.