Alek Wek

When I was a girl, civil war in Sudan forced me to flee my home town of Wau. ”

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. ”

For me, it always goes back to what my mother taught me and my sisters. That all women are beautiful, and we should embrace each other. ”

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?' ”

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. ”

It was the most exciting thing to leave secondary school and go to college, to have that freedom to study whatever I wanted. ”

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. ”

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. ”

The day you stop enjoying something is the day you should quit, if you can afford to. ”

I never thought I would see a free South Sudan. ”