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.

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.  Save the date and spread the word. Join the cause on facebook and twitter (tweet #RAINMAKER).

Source / Stylist: Sophia Coloma

The stunning beauty, Amber Heard, on set in New York for her new movie, Syrup.  Heard, who knows how to turns up the sex appeal in red, is seen here in Obakki’s Fall/Winter 2011 Garnet Red Acadia Coat.  This up and coming Hollywood ‘it girl’ has already been deemed the new face of Guess’ Fall 2011 campaign and has starred in a lead role alongside Johnny Depp in “The Rum Diary” (out in October 2011).

This time around, Heard co-stars include Shiloh Hernandez, Kellan Lutz of Twilight and Kirstie Alley. Find out more about the movie here.

The Fall/Winter 2011 Obakki Acadia Coat coming soon. Sign up to our newsletters to be the first to know when.

Photography by Peter Jensen

On Thursday, April 28th, we launched our Fall/Winter 2011 Collection to the world.  Set in the majestic St. Andrew’s Wesley Church of Vancouver, we were graced with the presence of over 600 customers and industry insiders alike. Among the crowd was Kelley Hoffman, on assignment for US Elle.com. This established NYC freelance writer has an impressive resume including the likes of Refinery29, Interview Magazine, W Magazine, Net-A-Porter, Thought Catalogue, the list goes on. Jenn Campbell of Le Fashion, Le Love, and WhoWhat Wear blog also flew in from NYC to sit front row at the show.

Marta of Fan Death and E.S.L. opened with a ghostly and beautiful improvisation on the grand piano. Hundreds of lit bone-white pillar candles dripped as its glimmer reflected off the stained glass windows of this 14th-century style sanctuary. The full version of our FW11 Editorial Film by Filmgroup.tv was screened (see the teaser here) and set the haunted mood with visuals of abandoned mansions and dusty chandeliers.  The runway was filled with opulent fabrics of fine Japanese lace, delicate Italian silks, with angora and mohair accents. Collective neutrals of antique whites with complexities of dark ash were accented by a kaleidoscopic array of garnet red, umber brown, burnt petal, and ochre. Custom prints and washed vintage silk elevated the ornate nature of the collection. Silhouettes included sheer and billowed blouses, body conscious cocktail dresses, tiered gowns, and tapered trousers.

Isabelle Cummins and Ian Daburn from Idaburn Salon brought out the playful yet sensual fragility of the collection with their fishtail style braid.  Caitlin Callahan, Senior Makeup Artist of MAC Cosmetics, and her team played with ghostly  porcelain complexions, juxtaposed with their Brick Red lip pencil and Ladybug Red lipstick, both available in-stores. The team tells us they used the same lip color in the FW11 Diane von Furstenberg runway show at NYFW. Of course any outfit is never complete without the shoes- provided by Gravity Pope, hands down the best selection in town, curated by stylist Tanus Lewis.

The show was commanded by DJ Nina Mendoza, with the runway playlist here:

1. Bedouin Soundclash – Brutal Hearts
2. Fat Freddy’s Drop – Flashback (Jazzanova Mashed Bag Mix)
3. Austra – The Beat and Pulse
4. Santogold – Starstruck
5. Junior Boys- In the Morning
6. Florence + the Machine- Drumming Song
7. Caribou- Odessa

A special thanks to Dela Cruz PR, Lj PR, and Heth PR for all your hard work and seamless execution.

Video highlights of the runway coming soon. More photos on Facebook.

Editorial film by filmgroup.tv:

Anna Calvi is seen here wearing a top from Obakki’s SS11 Collection in British Vogue‘s Spring issue. She’s been listed on the BBC Sound of 2011 list and boy does she have a powerhouse voice. With her stunning lips and smoky sultry eyes, we wouldn’t be surprised if she’s on the next cover of Vogue Magazine.

Selma Blair paid us a visit while filming an independent film, Replicas, put on by the collaborators of Lab Magazine. Seen here wearing our Bowery Coat, she told us this season she’s into black, all black.

Photographer: Justin Tyler Close

Stylist: Kathi Moore