Style splash: Vancouver event benefits clean water initiatives in South Sudan

Digging and scraping through dirt and dust in the pursuit of water is about as unglamorous a pastime as one could imagine. 

But that all changes on May 10 when some of Canada’s and South Sudan’s top models hit the runway in Vancouver for a fashion show benefiting the Obakki Foundation’s safe water programs in Central Africa, which have brought clean water to more than a million people. 

“We believe that a safe, reliable source of water is the foundation for growth in all other areas of life,” says Treana Peake, a Vancouver fashion designer and Obakki Foundation founder, of her mission to build wells in South Sudan and elsewhere. “With clean water, communities in Africa can do more than just survive; they can thrive.”

Called Walk For Water, the gala will include speeches from model/activist Mari Malek and UN refugee agency goodwill ambassador Ger Duany, a performance by Emmanuel Jal and a fashion show featuring supermodels Heather Marks, Tasha Tilberg, Grace Bol, Ajak Deng and others. All ticket proceeds and 10 per cent of the evening’s sales go toward the Obakki Foundation’s building of wells in South Sudan villages. 

It’s a program that hits close to home for South Sudanese-American model Bol, who will walk in the show. 

“When people don’t have clean water they are always sick and in many cases die from being forced to drink contaminated water — often the water is so filthy you cannot see through it,” says Bol, who is originally from the town of Dinka in South Sudan. “In many cases, clean water is available but takes hours to reach it.”

As a result, she says, children skip school and mothers are forced to leave their families as they make the sometimes daylong journey in search of reliable water sources. Bol says the lack of clean, accessible water has also been a source of conflict in the region. 

“Not having clean water leads to violence as desperate communities fight over access,” she says. “Livestock can’t live, gardens can’t grow … nothing happens without water.”

It is Bol’s firsthand experience with the area’s poor water conditions, and her close relationship with Peake, which made her want to get involved with the charity fashion show at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver.  

She’s not alone. Several of the other stars of the event are women who have had first-hand experience with the water issues plaguing many areas of the African continent.

“These models are not only on top of the fashion industry — opening the biggest designer shows in the world — but they’re activists, philanthropists and incredible individuals committed to creating change in their country,” Peake says of the elite lineup of models she has enlisted for the gala show. “When you see these stunningly beautiful South Sudanese models carry themselves so gracefully down the runway in Milan, Paris or New York, it’s hard to remember that they’re all carrying their own tragic story of living in — and fleeing — a country caught in war.”

For Bol, participating in the upcoming event was both an easy way to raise awareness and funds for a cause she holds dear, while also furthering her presence in the global fashion community — which she says is a big point of pride for many South Sudanese women back home. 

“Modelling is a voice for my people,” she says. “It is a way to tell the world of the struggle of my country and a way for me to make money to improve South Sudan. They are my family.”

But it’s not just those with direct connections to South Sudan and its water troubles that are eager to lend support to the initiative. 

For Canadian supermodel Marks, who has modelled for the likes of Dolce and Gabbana and Calvin Klein and has been featured in prominent publications including Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, it’s about raising awareness for a glaring problem that denies people one of the most basic necessities of life. Necessities, she admits, she had an abundance of growing up in Calgary.

“I’m lucky to have grown up surrounded by fresh air, lakes to swim in, and mountains to climb — straight out from my backyard,” she says. “I can’t imagine a world without it all.”

The mission of clean water isn’t too far off Marks’ usual preference of philanthropic endeavours: those benefitting animals and the planet. 

“Clean water is such a basic human need and any charity that works to bring clean water to people is worth supporting,” she says.

Marks says her experience in the fashion world and her upbringing in Canada have afforded her a new perspective on the struggles those less fortunate face. 

 “Being fortunate enough to travel and experience different cultures has shown me parts of the world I could never imagine,” she says. “I’ve backpacked through third world countries, experiencing the local communities and their way of life. It makes you realize how lucky we are to have the lives we have and what we still take for granted.”

So, while digging wells may not seem like the most glamorous endeavour on any given day, on May 10, the support of clean water and the creation of wells will prove to be the purpose behind one of Vancouver’s most stylish evenings of the season. 

For more information about the Walk for Water gala, or to inquire about last-minute ticket availability, visit walkforwaterbenefit.eventbrite.ca^[1]. 

References

1. ^{^} walkforwaterbenefit.eventbrite.ca (walkforwaterbenefit.eventbrite.ca)