Many of us talk a lot about the eternal wars we seem to be involved in and that we want peace. Well, a peacenik friend send information about a company who is Paying It Forward. I did some research to see if it was authentic and it really is. Gift giving season is coming and this would be a way to put a check mark next to a name on your list and make a real difference.
I plan to join the unarmed forces and I hope that many of you will also join around the world. I am excited to share this company with you and that it will among other things help girls in Afghanistan get education.
Namaste
Barbara
THE MISSION
As Army Rangers with several Afghanistan tours behind them, Griff and Lee saw a country filled with hard-working, creative people who wanted jobs, not handouts.
Flip flops were just the start. We’ve taken a product that people in nearly every country on the planet wear, and made it a weapon for change. Right now, all our flip flops are made in Bogota, Colombia, providing jobs and investing in people who desperately need it. We’ve done that with all the products we sell.
Our USA made Claymore Bag’s flip the script, on traditional weapons of war. Instead of carrying bombs, these bags act as a carry-all for business tools like iPad’s, laptops and more.
Our Cover and Concealment sarongs are handmade in Afghanistan by local women. Each one takes three days to make, and each sale puts an Afghan girl into secondary school for a week.
The Peacemaker Bangle and Coinwrap are sent to us straight from artisans in Laos – and they’re made from bombs. Each bracelet sold clears 3 square meters of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) from a region rocked by long-term war – saving lives and providing economic opportunity.
UNAPOLOGETICALLY, WE MAKE COOL STUFF IN DANGEROUS PLACES.
We do this because it’s our job to show others what’s possible, then encourage them to join us.
WELCOME TO THE UNARMED FORCES.
Their most popular product is their original, the AK47 flipflop:
They also make fabric scarves, called shemaghs, made in Kabul, Afghanistan. The sale of each shemagh puts one Afghan girl into secondary school for 1 day. According to their website, 103 girls have been enrolled in school for the full year since Janaruy 2016.
These are the shemaghs available (more are on the website combatflipflops.com)
What she needs is an education. We can help give her one.
This week, in honor of back to school, charitable donations are increased by 2x
The charity supported is: Aid Afghanistan for Education (AAE)
“When we educate a woman, we educate a family. Unless we educate the Afghan population, there will be no peace.”
~Hassina Sherjan, Executive Director, Aid Afghanistan for Education.
Devastation, war, and violence in Afghanistan created a regressive, fundamentalist education system that prevented modern education for children, and denied opportunities for women to work and fend for their families. We believe education is the only vehicle to a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan. Every Afghan has the right to be educated, create opportunity, and add value to their country’s future. Since 2003, AAE has established 13 schools in 9 provinces that educate marginalized Afghans deprived of an education during the years of conflict in the region—or do not have access to a formal education system. Currently, 3,000 female and 104 male students are attending AAE schools.
idealisticrebel 
This just an amazing idea!
It is and I did some shopping and 3 girls got to go to secondary school for a week and I have some presents. Win, win situation. And I am putting my money where my mouth is. LOL. Hugs, Barbara