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.
Alek Wek
Don't focus on negative things; focus on the positive, and you will flourish.
True beauty is born through our actions and aspirations and in the kindness we offer to others.
Beauty is subjective and should not be limited to only what we see on the outside.
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.
When I started, I'd hear other people saying, 'God, she's so bizarre-looking,' because I didn't look like the girl next door. But I was just normal. I was the girl next door. There were people in high fashion I could better relate to who were doing something more interesting and not talking this sort of rubbish.
Having arrived in London to seek refuge during the civil war in Sudan, where I was born, the thing I'm most proud of is having totally evolved. I came here not knowing how to speak English, but I went to school and learned; I adapted to this new culture.
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.
Bones inside clothes. That was war to me.
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.
Education is the key to the future.
I had jobs from the age of 14, when I arrived in London as a refugee. Aged 17, I'd get up at 4 A.M. to work as a cleaner before school. It wasn't pleasant.
My father made sure of discipline, but my mum, she was serious business.
It's a small world when you're from South Sudan.
We survived on natural resources, so we should take care of the earth. When I leave home, I do things like switching off the heat and lights.
When I started modeling, it was like, 'Oh, she's too dark,' and I kind of looked at them like, 'You're too daft.'
My experience as a refugee had made me strong; I could survive anything, even the world of fashion.
The beauty of reading is that it lets you travel in a way you could never know.
I used to have nightmares about the civil war when I got to England at ages 14 to 15. It took me some years to get over that.
There are mothers who sew for six months to make a fashion collection - someone's grandmother, someone's sister. We come in and get paid to walk for 10 minutes at the end. Whenever I think about that, I realise it's not about me. I was just the one chosen to represent those women and sell the clothes.
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.
There's never too much you can do.
We need to do everything we can to protect the health and welfare of children around the world, but fortunately, it's getting easier to provide things like medication and care.
From nine years old, I lived with fear. I saw our neighbours disappearing. I was scared that I would come home from school and my parents would not be there.
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.
My family is the most important thing to me.
When I was 10 years old, I fled my homeland amid the bomb blasts of civil war in Sudan.
In restaurants in my Brooklyn neighborhood, I always ask for a doggie bag to bring the leftovers home.
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.
The day you stop enjoying something is the day you should quit, if you can afford to.
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.
When I was working, there was no digital. We actually worked; we used Polaroids.
When the militias came to Wau, they would blast out 'Thriller' as they moved down the dirt streets.
There are people who can look out for other human beings; there are people who can speak up when something is not right and say, 'This is wrong, and something should be done.'
I am so impressed by UNHCR staff who live and work side by side with the refugees. It's really remarkable.
When you give, you receive.
I believe we should utilise any power we have for important issues that are bigger and beyond us. Whether it's with refugees or working to educate kids. I don't think you need to have gone through a civil war to do something. I believe as human beings, we can look out for each other.
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.
When I was 14, I came to school in London. I remember it was very cold, but also having to adjust and become fluent in English.
I love cooking. I love having friends around.
Everything has to do with education: If you educate the girls, you educate the family, the community, and society, in general.
There's one thing we all share: We eat to nurture ourselves, to feel stronger.
When I first started working with World Vision, I would sit down and talk with them about issues that concern any part of the world. MSF told me about what was going on in North Korea. I also support AIDS and breast cancer charities.
I use Johnson & Johnson! I use their baby oil gel.
I never thought I would see a free South Sudan.
War tore my family apart.
Beauty does not mean one thing but not something else.
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.
When I think of 'Instagram models,' I say you have to take baby steps. You cannot just walk straight onto the runway.
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.
