Alek Wek
Going back to South Sudan after the independence took place was deeply emotional for me because I had gone through the civil war with my family just before going to seek refuge in London.Collection: Independence
My mother has always instilled in us that we should carry ourselves with dignity despite the horror that came with the civil war. She also taught us that where you come from is very important because that's what makes you who you are. So for me, whatever I've gone through had profoundly shaped me; it has given me strength and unwavering faith.Collection: Strength
I think beauty is not just about what we put on our heads or on our faces or what we wear: it's deeper than that, and if we can celebrate that, celebrate the women, not just the superficiality... I think it would be really gorgeous.Collection: Beauty
London is like my second home. I've still got friends there from school and from when I first started in the modelling business - people such as Karen Elson, Jasmine Guinness, Jade Parfitt.Collection: Home
Don't focus on negative things; focus on the positive, and you will flourish.Collection: Positive
True beauty is born through our actions and aspirations and in the kindness we offer to others.Collection: Beauty
The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments. If you don't celebrate those, they can pass you by.Collection: Money
At times, we take freedom for granted. We really don't know how to cherish the freedom we have until it's taken from us.Collection: Freedom
The beauty of reading is that it lets you travel in a way you could never know.Collection: Travel
Beauty is subjective and should not be limited to only what we see on the outside.Collection: Beauty
Education is the key to the future.
I've always loved to paint - I was studying to do an art degree when I was approached to become a model - and I've being doing some design work as well. I also love just having a quiet time, sitting in my little library at home in Brooklyn and reading or watching documentaries or listening to music.
It's sometimes tiring to get off a long-haul flight and go straight to the studio for a shoot, but if you really plan everything well, you can get so much out of combining travel with work.
We eat to live.
In restaurants in my Brooklyn neighborhood, I always ask for a doggie bag to bring the leftovers home.
Restaurants serve huge portions on even huger platters, and people are tempted to eat too much.
All the exhausting aspects of my job are made worthwhile because I get to experience so many different cultures. It makes you really appreciate the memories.
It was the most exciting thing to leave secondary school and go to college, to have that freedom to study whatever I wanted.
There's never too much you can do.
When I was growing up, my mother taught me and my sisters to celebrate each other - there was no room in our household for negativity. She taught us to embrace each other, and this was empowering for us. She also taught us the value of celebrating our differences.
I think the fashion industry has gotten to a place where it is embarrassing.
When I think of 'Instagram models,' I say you have to take baby steps. You cannot just walk straight onto the runway.
When I was working, there was no digital. We actually worked; we used Polaroids.
There was no concept of fashion and catwalk shows where I came from.
I've seen mothers and children really being vulnerable in the refugee camps; it's supposed to be temporary, but they end up having children who have grown up in refugee camps.
I'm an artist at heart.
Everything has to do with education: If you educate the girls, you educate the family, the community, and society, in general.
I don't even know where to start in terms of people having such an issue about color, especially being dark. I just think on different levels it's ignorance; it's no belief, no confidence, it's insecurity, so you want to inflict it on somebody else.
When I started modeling, it was like, 'Oh, she's too dark,' and I kind of looked at them like, 'You're too daft.'
Black girls, I feel, rock, in so many ways, especially coming from five girls.
My mother always has embedded in us that you guys rock in different ways, and to be able to celebrate that with each other is just beautiful.
You could fancy what you'd like, but as a woman, my mother always raised us to believe in ourselves. I am very grateful that my mother brought me up that way.
I have short hair. It doesn't make me more unattractive than a woman or my sisters that have more longer hair and a bit lighter.
It's an awful feeling, being hungry.
Many live to eat, instead of the other way around.
I've eight brothers and sisters - five girls, four boys. I am the seventh.
I like to accept it all, the negative and the positive.
I am not really into buying a lot of expensive things.
When you give, you receive.
It's a small world when you're from South Sudan.
I was working part-time as a cleaner while I was going to college and then babysitting after school.
My commitment to refugees comes from a very personal place.
I grew up in southern Sudan, one of nine children. Our life was simple but very happy.
When I was a girl, civil war in Sudan forced me to flee my home town of Wau.
War tore my family apart.
Whenever I feel I am going through my own 'little' challenging moment, I just think about my mom.
There's one thing we all share: We eat to nurture ourselves, to feel stronger.
Starting modeling in the '90s, it was quite surreal. They were like, 'You're so different! So weird! So bizarre!' And I'm like, 'I'm so normal. What are you talking about?'
I love cooking. I love having friends around.
You've got to make yourself happy. I'm a happy person naturally.