116 Quotes by Alek Wek

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.

I had serious psoriasis as a child - it's strange that I make my living off my looks after years of looking like a monster.

You've got to make yourself happy. I'm a happy person naturally.

If my mother hadn't encouraged me, I would be nervous and feeling like I'm doing something wrong.

You can feel very strongly that someone doesn't like you. I think any model who didn't have the same sort of upbringing as me would find that very difficult. But I absolutely knew I was entitled. I never thought I was ugly - it never crossed my mind.

When you give, you receive.

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.

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.

South Sudanese people are rich like the soil; they just need a little water, and they will grow.