PledgeBank United States
I’ll do it, but only if you’ll help

Pledge “AK47-for-mum”

"I will buy my mum an AK-47 for Christmas but only if 20 other people who want to make a difference will do the same."

— Will Moffat (contact)

Deadline to sign up by: 25^th December 2005
5 people signed up, 15 more were needed

Country: United Kingdom

More details
OK, not really. But I do promise to pay for a Kalashnikov on www.goodgifts.org They support a project to purchase and disable guns left over from the civil war in Sierra Leone and give them to blacksmiths to turn into farm implements.

It would be great to know that other people want to support this worthwhile project.

Here are a number of articles about MAPCO, the local charity involved: http://www.google.com/search?q=MAPCO+sie...

This is a simple Christmas present for somebody who doesn’t want socks or an ugly tie. (It doesn’t have to be your mum!) It takes 15 minutes to order. Once the card arrives it’s another 15 minutes to print out. 30 minutes, £30 and hopefully you made a small difference in the world.

You can buy your Kalashnikov here:
http://www.goodgifts.org/goodgifts/produ...

On my blog at http://hamstersoup.wordpress.com/2005/12... you can find step by step instructions on how to order, articles about the charities involved and some photos.

Comments on this pledge

• The trend for giving specific 'gifts' to charity in lieu of presents is an excellent one, but I would suggest that Send A Cow is the best organisation to go through.
  They really are the most efficient, worthy charity around- every detail has been thought through. The price of transport, training and vetinary care is included in the price of their gifts- of which they have a wide range.
  More details and catalogue at www.sendacow.org.uk
  Hannah Simpson, 2 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Hi Hannah, Thanks for your comment. Send A Cow is an excellent charity. I was hoping with this pledge to capture the imagaination of people who might not normally consider such a donation. Getting an AK47 for Christmas does have a certain ring to it.
  Will Moffat, 2 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• I'd also like to suggest The Salvation Army's projects: Two by Two is similar to Send A Cow, and among others, they have a project called "Mustard Seeds" where credit is given to people in 3rd world countries to start their own business.
  
  Details can be found here: http://www1.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www...
  Chris, 2 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• There is another pledge running on PledgeBank that is specifically asking people NOT to send a cow - but instead to donate to an orphanage in Kenya.
  
  Check it out: http://www.pledgebank.com/kenyanorphans
  Chris Anderson, 2 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Excellent idea, Will, but I'm afraid I'll have to wait till the New Year.
  Owen Beith, 2 years ago. Abusive? Report it!
• Hi, it's great to see that people are interested. Free to sign the pledge if you intend to support this project next year. After all, it's the donations that matter, not really the fact that 20 of us buy a particular Christmas gift.
  
  However, if somebody does want to make an order but they won't get the card in time for Christmas then email me at will_AK47_for_mum@hamstersoup.com and I'll send you a Word document version of the GoodGift eCard that you can simply print, fold and sign.
  Will Moffat, 2 years ago. Abusive? Report it!