A stunning photograph of Sudanese British model Alek Wek…

Alek Wek (born 16 April 1977)  first appeared on the catwalks at the age of 18 in 1995, sparking a career lasting to date. She is from the Dinka ethnic group in South Sudan, but in 1991 she and some family members fled to Britain to escape the civil war in Sudan. She later moved to the United States.

Alek is a member of the U.S. Committee for Refugees’ Advisory Council and is helping to raise awareness about the situation in Sudan, as well as the plight of refugees worldwide. She can base this on her own experience as a refugee, fleeing the war in her country of birth.

She is a missionary for World Vision, an organisation which combats AIDS, an ambassador for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan, and devotes time to UNICEF.

In 2007, she released an autobiography, entitled Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel, documenting her journey from a childhood of poverty in Sudan to the catwalks of Europe.