The auction will begin at 6:00am EST on March 15, 2012; however, to get a sneak preview of the items that have already been donated, please visit: 32auctions.com/cabbagetown.

If you have services or products that you would like to donate to the online auction, please email Kyle Bidlack at kyle.bidlack@yahoo.com.

Together we are strong. Together we are making a difference.

Your support has made it possible for us to make great strides in our journey towards building a well in the remote village of Esupetai, Kenya.  Please find our latest news and accomplishments in this Spring edition of our newsletter.

Hydrogeological Survey Complete
Before drilling any well, information about the water table depth, seasonal fluctuations, and available water resources must be found.  Last month, we invested $2,000 to complete a hydrogeological survey in Esupetai.

The survey confirmed two important requirements:  First, the proposed well location will provide water that meets the World Health Organization quality for human consumption.  Second, the depth of the well will need to be between 100 and 250 meters (about 328 – 820 feet).

The actual required depth of the well will ultimately be determined by drilling.  Therefore, it is important that we fulfill on our goal of $80,000 to support the furthest possible depth.

WellBeing Foundation Documentary
Our team has recently been filming a documentary on our efforts, what the Maasai people mean to us, why we decided to help, and how we all can make a difference.  We look forward to sharing it with you when the final version has been complete.

Salsa!
Our efforts in fund-raising continue!  We are proud to announce an upcoming Salsa event that will take place at the end of April.  It will be huge–live music, salsa performances, and silent auction items to give you a night to remember!  Stay tuned to your inbox for an upcoming invitation.

WellBeing Youth Club
The WellBeing Youth Club at North Cobb High School–an extension of our organization that reaches out to inspire our young generation–has some exciting upcoming events.

On April 23rd, they are holding a garage sale and car wash.  Also in the month of April, they are organizing a Gold Party (where supporters exchange their gold for money) and will donate a percentage of proceeds to WellBeing.  And…be sure to keep a lookout for the “Walk for Water” event our youngsters will be holding on May 7th.

If you are interested in supporting our Youth Club or participating in these events, please contact Sorina Iliescu directly at cs_iliescu@hotmail.com.

Global Humanitarian Summit
On April 1st to 3rd, the WellBeing Foundation will be presenting during the Global Health and Humanitarian Summit at Emory University in Atlanta.  It is an opportunity to connect with other international non-profit organizations and further global efforts to bring peace and well-being to all of humanity.

Please come join us at the event.  Attendance is free.  Information regarding the Summit can be found at: http://www.imvc.org/

In Closing…
Please check our website and Facebook for up-to-the-minute information. We invite you to share news about our project with your family and friends and graciously accept donations on an ongoing basis.

We are grateful for your support in our mission: Building a well in the village of Esupetai. Together we will save lives and improve the quality of life there.

With gratitude,

The WellBeing Foundation Team

If you would like to view the newsletter sent to our mailing list (and subscribe), please see:WellBeing March 2011 Newsletter

In another part of the world a soft voice, barely audible, whispers: “Mommy, I am…I am thirsty.”His mother cuddles him, Kisses his forehead and says, “I know my son, I know.” She watches over him lovingly, as he dies away in her arms, at her breast. His eyes, big, wondering eyes, bright and pure as his heart, close slowly catching his last sight of the blue sky.

One in five children has the same fate in Kenya. While our children play freely, in another part of the world, each season seemingly brings less and less rain and children die of thirst.

Donate NOW and these children and their village will be filled with your grace. And it is your grace that will live within them, inspiring them to do amazing things that today is only a dream to them.

You possess so much power. Won’t you lend it those who need it most? Every dollar you give brings clean drinking water closer to the surface. We need to Drill a 500 foot well. Each foot costs approximately $50. How many feet will YOU drill for the Maasai?

Please, please donate today.

The (not-so-secret) secret to the success of this mission is the power of one. YOU can pass this message to 100 of your friends and if each of you give just $25, we’ll be $2,500 closer to our goal of $25,000.

We hope you will link to our Facebook page too. Again, please invite all your Facebook friends to join. If you do that and encourage YOUR friends to invite THEIR friends, then together, we can beat back the darkness till it bleeds daylight.

Please donate first. Then join us on Facebook by clicking the Facebook logo.

Thank you from the WellBeing Foundation team.
Shine on…

Maasai society is strongly patriarchal in nature with elder men, sometimes joined by retired elders, deciding most major matters for each Maasai group. A full body of oral law cover many aspects of behaviour. The Maasai are monotheistic, and they call God Enkai or Engai. Engai is a single deity with a dual nature: Engai Narok (Black God) is benevolent, and Engai Nanyokie (Red God) is vengeful. The “Mountain of God”, Ol Doinyo Lengai, is located in northernmost Tanzania. The central human figure in the Maasai religious system is the laibon who may be involved in shamanistic healing, divination and prophecy, insuring success in war or adequate rainfall.

Traditional Maasai lifestyle centers around their cattle which constitutes the primary source of food. The measure of a man’s wealth is in terms of cattle and children. A herd of 50 cattle is respectable, and the more children the better. A man who has plenty of one but not the other is considered to be poor.

As a semi-nomadic people, the Maasai have traditionally relied on local, readily available materials and indigenous technology to construct their homes. The traditional Maasai house is designed for people on the move and is impermanent in nature. The Inkajijik (houses) are either star-shaped or circular, and are constructed by able-bodied women. The enkaji is small, measuring about 3m x 5m and standing only 1.5m high. Within this space the family cooks, eats, sleeps, socializes and stores food, fuel and other household possessions. Small livestock are also often accommodated within the enkaji.

Maasai music traditionally consists of rhythms provided by a chorus of vocalists singing harmonies while a song leader, or olaranyani, sings the melody. The olaranyani begins by singing a line or title (namba) of a song. The group will respond with one unanimous call in acknowledgment, and the olaranyani will sing a verse over the group’s rhythmic throat singing. Each song has its specific namba structure based on call-and-response. Lyrics follow a typical theme and are often repeated over time.

Women chant lullabies, humming songs, and songs praising their sons. Repeated phrases following each verse being sung on a descending scale and singers responding to their own verses are characteristically sung by females. When many Maasai women gather together, they often sing and dance among themselves.

Both singing and dancing sometimes occur around manyattas, and involve flirting. Young men will form a line and chant rhythmically, “Oooooh-yah”, with a growl and stacatto cough along with the thrust and withdrawal of their lower bodies. Girls stand in front of the men and make the same pelvis lunges while singing a high dying fall of “Oiiiyo…yo” in counterpoint to the men. Although bodies come in close proximity, they never touch.

Today, the staple diet of the Maasai consists of cow’s milk and maize-meal. The former is largely drunk fresh or in sweet tea and the latter is used to make a liquid or solid porridge. The solid porridge is known as uoali and is eaten with milk; unlike the liquid porridge, uoali is not prepared with milk. Meat, although an important food, is consumed irregularly and cannot be classified as a staple food. Animal fats or butter are used in cooking, primarily of porridge, maize, and beans. Butter is also an important infant food.

Clothing varies by age, sex, and place. Young men, for instance, wear black for several months following their circumcision. However, red is a favored color. Blue, black, striped, and checkered cloth are also worn, as are multicolored African designs.

Shúkà is the Maa word for sheets traditionally worn wrapped around the body, one over each shoulder, then a third over the top of them. These are typically red, though with some other colors (e.g. blue) and patterns (e.g. plaid.) Maasai near the coast may wear kikoi, a type of sarong that comes in many different colors and textiles. However, the preferred style is stripes.

Many Maasai wear simple sandals soled with discarded tire strips or plastic. Both men and women wear wooden bracelets. The Maasai women regularly weave and bead jewelry. This bead work plays an essential part in the ornamentation of their body.

Beadworking, done by women, has a long history among the Maasai, who articulate their identity and position in society through body ornaments and body painting.

At 224,961 square miles, Kenya is the world’s forty-seventh largest country (after Madagascar). From the coast on the Indian Ocean the Low plains rise to central highlands. The highlands are bisected by the Great Rift Valley; a fertile plateau in the east. The Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. The highlands are the site of the highest point in Kenya: Mount Kenya, which reaches 5,199m (17,057 ft) and is also the site of glaciers. Climate varies from tropical along the coast to arid in the interior. Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895m – 19,341 ft) can be seen from Kenya to the South of the Tanzanian border.

Kenya has considerable land area of wildlife habitat, including the Masai Mara, where Blue Wildebeest and other bovids participate in a large scale annual migration. Up to 250,000 blue wildebeest perish each year in the long and arduous movement to find forage in the dry season. The “Big Five” animals of Africa can also be found in Kenya: the lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros and elephant. A significant population of other wild animals, reptiles and birds can be found in the national parks and game reserves in the country. The environment of Kenya is threatened by high population growth and its side effects.

Kenya has a tropical climate. It is hot and humid at the coast, temperate inland and very dry in the north and northeast parts of the country. There is however a lot of rain between March and May, and moderate rain in October and November. The temperature remains high throughout these months.

After independence, Kenya promoted rapid economic growth through public investment, encouragement of smallholder agricultural production, and incentives for private (often foreign) industrial investment. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual average of 6.6% from 1963 to 1973. Agricultural production grew by 4.7% annually during the same period.

Between 1974 and 1990, however, Kenya’s economic performance declined. Inappropriate agricultural policies, inadequate credit, and poor international terms of trade contributed to the decline in agriculture. From 1991 to 1993, Kenya had its worst economic performance since independence.

In 1993, the Government of Kenya began a major program of economic reform and liberalization. As part of this program, the government eliminated price controls and import licensing, removed foreign exchange controls, privatized a range of publicly owned companies, reduced the number of civil servants, and introduced conservative fiscal and monetary policies. From 1994 to 1996, Kenya’s real GDP growth rate averaged just over 4% a year.

In 1997, however, the economy entered a period of slowing or stagnant growth, due in part to adverse weather conditions and reduced economic activity before general elections in December 1997. In 2000, GDP growth was negative, but improved slightly in 2001 as rainfall returned closer to normal levels. Economic growth continued to improve slightly in 2002 and reached 1.4% in 2003. It was 4.3% in 2004 and 5.8% in 2005.

In 2007, the Kenyan government unveiled Vision 2030, which is a very ambitious economic blueprint and which, if implemented in its entirety, has the potential of putting the country in the same league as the Asian Economic Tigers.

Kenya is active in several sports, among them cricket, rallying, football (soccer), rugby union and boxing. But the country is known chiefly for its dominance in Middle-distance and long-distance athletics. Kenya has regularly produced Olympic and Commonwealth Games champions in various distance events. Kenyan athletes (particularly Kalenjin) continue to dominate the world of distance running, although competition from Morocco and Ethiopia has reduced this supremacy. Kenya’s best-known athletes included the four-time women’s Boston Marathon winner and two-time world champion Catherine Ndereba, former Marathon world record-holder Paul Tergat, and John Ngugi.

Kenya won several medals during the Beijing Olympics, 5 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze, making it Africa’s most successful Nation in the 2008 Olympics. New athletes gained attention, such as Pamela Jelimo, the women’s 800m gold medalist who went ahead to win the Golden League jackpot, and Samuel Wanjiru who won the men’s marathon.

Kenya has also been a dominant force in ladies’ volleyball within Africa, with both the clubs and the national team winning various continental championships in the past decade. The womens’ team has also competed at the Olympics and World Championships.

Cricket is another popular and successful team sport. Kenya has competed in the Cricket World Cup since 1996. They upset some of the World’s best teams and reached semi-finals of the 2003 tournament. Kenya is making a name for itself in rugby union. It is popular in Kenya especially with the annual Safari Sevens tournament.

In the motor rallying arena, Kenya is home to the world famous Safari Rally, commonly acknowledged as one of the toughest rallies in the world and a part of the World Rally Championship for many years until its exclusion after the 2002 event owing to financial difficulties..