Yesterday, on the Obakki Foundation, we posted about the rainy season and the monumental effects of water-born diseases. But what happens the other half of the year during the dry season? Take a wild guess. It’s like the cliché saying goes: “so close, yet so far”. Beneath the scorching, cracked earth lies a network of clean and fresh groundwater springs, completely inaccessible to the people above who are dying of thirst. Literally.

Click here to read the rest of this story and visit obakkifoundation.org to learn more about our water project in Sudan. You can make a difference right now by bidding on items for our Rainmaker Auction on eBay. It ends tomorrow with items closing today.

You may have heard that we’ve got a fairly large side project on the go with our Obakki Foundation. We’re raising funds right now so we can drill water wells in South Sudan.

The rainy season in South Sudan lasts from June to November. This photo paints a picture of the striking landscape and also tells a raw story of the reality of the people’s lives.  During the rainy season, rainfall creates streams such as these and serve as the people’s dishwashers, baths, bathrooms and drinking water. Hard to believe. As you can see the water is in no condition to drink. But the danger lies within something that cannot been seen with the human eye: The Guinea Worm.

Guinea worm is a painful, debilitating and gruesome disease that is contracted when a person consumes stagnant water contaminated with microscopic fleas carrying infective larvae. The larvae mature and grow inside a person’s body, with worms sometimes growing to be over a metre long. The worm winds through the body and after a year, slowly emerges through an agonizingly painful blister in the skin. There is no cure. (UNICEF, 2004)  According to the Jimmy Carter’s Foundation, 98% of the world’s guinea worm cases are in South Sudan. The source? Dirty water. It not only affects the health of the people but is also detrimental to the economy and the community, causing productive people to become bedridden or stuck at home caring for those that have been affected by this disease.

Although the civil war ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, the country is far from being at a state of peace.  The local villagers burn the brush to clear the grounds and make sure there are no tyrants hiding in the bush preparing for ambush. The smoke is a chilling reminder that danger is all around, even still today.

Right now, we are mapping out our well sites with key target areas where the guinea worm disease is most prevalent. If you’ve read our other blog posts, you can see not only the health and education benefits water brings, but also the de-weaponizing effect it has had where villagers are trading weapons for water at the 100 Obakki Foundation well sites we drilled last dry season.

This time we’re drilling 200 more wells and we need your help. Our Rainmaker Auction on eBay ends on Monday November 14th with signed celeb items and one-of-a-kind pieces closing everyday. Big items ending today are a personalized autograph from Garth Brooks on his guitar or a VIP concert package and meet & greet with Lady Antebellum.  Make sure you bid, and if you can’t please share it as much as possible with others that might be interested: ebay.com/ObakkiFoundation.  Follow us on twitter (@ObakkiFdn) or facebook for updates and insights.

You too can help create peace. With only a few days left in our Rainmaker Auction on eBay and items closing today and throughout the weekend, it’s your last chance to get your hands on some incredible items. One of the best known rock photographers in the world, Richard E. Aaron was on-stage and backstage documenting the Classic Rock decades as it unfolded around some of the most important events in music history. Aaron captures musical icons Tom Petty, Keith Richards and Bruce Springsteen- in black & white, framed and available on our eBay Rainmaker Auction.

All the proceeds go to our water projects in Sudan. Read our other posts about how water creates peace.

Everyday illegal weapons contribute to the deaths of many in South Sudan as tensions and turmoil rise over scarce resources and fractured hopes.  As the dry season continues and water sources become even more of a rarity the stress that exists between the tribes will escalate.  The UN and the Government of South Sudan have relayed with confidence that the Obakki Foundation’s commitment to clean water is exactly what is needed to start weaving the people together and initiate the pursuit of peace.  With peace comes development and the chance of a new life.

Taylor Swift is a stand for peace in Sudan. She’s donated a beautiful AUTOGRAPHED acoustic guitar, case included, to our Rainmaker Auction, hosted on eBay Giving Works, alongside many of her famous friends such as Carrie Underwood & Kenny Chesney, Colbie Callait and more.  We’ve already started drilling well #1. Help us get to 200.

Check back daily for featured items and an inside look at our water project in Sudan on our Obakki Foundation blog.

Today is the official launch date of our Obakki Foundation Rainmaker Auction on eBay, going live at 4PM PST. 100% of the proceeds go to our clean water project: drilling wells for South Sudan. Learn more about the cause here.  Of course we’re kicking it off with a bang and what could be bigger than the Queen B herself, Beyonce.

Beyonce has been gracious enough to sign and donate a full sized framed poster of her new album cover “4″.  In the United States, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 310,000 copies in its first week. It also became a number-one chart hit in several other countries. With singles like “Run the World (Girls)” and “Best Thing I Never Had” it is obvious that Beyonce never really left and is bigger and better than ever.

What’s to come today? Here’s just a little taste of what we’ve got in store for you:

Katy Perry
Tenacious D
Anne Rice
Keith Urban
Ke$ha
And more…

New items will be posted everyday throughout the auction, so check back often. Keep updated with daily features and hot items right here on our Obakki Foundation blog.

Join the conversation & spread the word with Facebook & Twitter (@ObakkiFdn #RAINMAKER).

In South Sudan, 6 million people are living without clean water. Right now we are drilling wells to change that. Become a part of that change and support our Obakki Foundation Rainmaker Auction happening on eBay November 1st-14th with signed celeb items from Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Coldplay and many many more.   Save the date and spread the word.

Check back often for daily updates and featured items. Join the Obakki Foundation cause on facebook and twitter (tweet #RAINMAKER @ObakkiFdn).

In South Sudan, 6 million people are living without clean water. Right now we are drilling wells to change that. Become a part of that change and support our Obakki Foundation Rainmaker Auction happening on eBay November 1st-14th.  Save the date and spread the word. Join the cause on facebook and twitter (tweet #RAINMAKER).

Obakki Foundation in a feature 3-page spread in the February 2011 issue of Elle Magazine. Now available on newsstands.

Straight from the source: “Our magazine is based on the idea that a corduroy jacket never goes out of style. In the same way, we profile actors, musicians, designers and fine artists who aren’t looking to follow mainstream trends, but rather focused on creating something classic.”   The recently featured Obakki Foundation resonates with this principle by standing for a cause that has life-changing impact and lasting results. Read the Obakki Foundation travel diaries to learn more.

Corduroy has shelf-life. Get it here.

Over 4,500 uninvited fans lined up to see if they could shimmy their way in to the private Corduroy Magazine launch party at Milk Studios in NYC.  Sean Lennon, singer, and Canadian beauty, Irina Lazareanu, attended this exclusive event among New York’s most stylish hipsters.

The Obakki Foundation went to Cameroon, Africa and gave 150 orphans a piece of paper and asked them these questions:

WHAT MAKES YOU SAD? WHAT MAKES YOU AFRAID? WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?

Using their words and drawings as inspiration, we created pieces like our Obakki Foundation Graphic Scarf, as seen being worn by Erika below.

“It was incredibly gratifying and emotional to show the children the power of their words,” said Treana Peake, owner and founder of Obakki and Obakki Foundation. “They’re seeing that because of their answers, proper food, education and health care will soon be available. They’re giving themselves a future.”