This challenge is for families who want to stand alongside people displaced against their will. It is also for the charities and communities who bring those families together.
Who takes part
Every team begins with one woman: the mother. She is usually a teacher or volunteer, well known and trusted in her community. Her faith is strong. She is not a natural adventurer or athlete, and nobody expects her to be.
Her community nominates her, often with help from a charity. She then invites her son, her daughter-in-law and her daughter-in-law’s mother. The rest of the team follows from her invitation.
Because she is so well known, she also becomes the focus of local fundraising. You will find more on that in Choosing the charity and cause.
Why we do it
Most of us will never be forced to flee. This challenge asks four generations of a family to feel, for one day, a small part of what that means.
It also rests on a belief that runs deep in Islam, that believers share one another’s pain.
The believers, in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy, are like one body. When one part suffers, the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever.
Hadith, narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
Every part of the challenge is shaped by a reason. This table sets them out.
| The ask | Why |
|---|---|
| Little or no training | Displacement comes suddenly. Nobody gets time to get fit first |
| Everyday clothes, abayas and hijabs | People flee in whatever they are wearing, not in the right kit |
| A heavy suitcase, a backpack and a doll | These are the things people cannot bear to leave behind |
| Four teams racing together | Strangers are thrown together in flight, and share a fight to survive |
| Every obstacle, whatever it takes | There is no way round, and no one to do it for you |
| Mud, wet and effort | The discomfort must be real enough to be felt, and short enough to be safe |
Is now the right time?
This is a demanding day, and it is fine to ask hard questions first. Talk these through as a family before saying yes.
- Is anyone unwell, injured, pregnant or very anxious about the day?
- Does everyone truly want to take part, or is someone saying yes to be kind?
- Can the mother find time for both the day and the fundraising?
- Who will look after any young children while the family takes part?
- Does anyone have a physical need the course could make harder?
If the last question applies, talk to the organisers early. They can plan with you, and they will want to hear it well before the day.
Care for those who have lived it
Some families may know displacement first-hand. For them, the day could bring back painful memories. Ask about this gently and privately, never in a group. Make it easy for anyone to step back, and let nobody feel they have to explain why.
If the answers feel right, the next step is choosing the challenge itself.