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.

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).

Obakki annual warehouse sale this weekend. Click here for directions.

Find a store near you with our Store Locator.

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).

Come visit us in our Gastown store at 44 Water Street, Vancouver.

Photography: Robert Kenney

Obakki’s Creative Director Treana Peake (above) humbly accepts Western Living’s 2011 Designer of the Year Award in the category of Fashion. Get an intimate look at what they call “smart fashion” and the world of a Creative Director, a Philanthropist, and a Mother in Western Living’s September 2011 issue or online.

Fall/Winter 2011 Fashion Show: Porcelain skin and blood red lips by MAC Cosmetics were being painted backstage. Hundreds of dripping pillar candles lit the European St. Andrew’s Wesley Church while musician Marta Mckeever goes free-style on the grand piano with a reverberating haunted number.  Behind the scenes film of the runway here. Photos by Peter Jensen.