MONACO WORDS OF WISDOM
For me life is not about success. It is about living a fulfilling, happy life with a purpose.
Now we both have foundations and hers— Every Mother Counts— is focused on helping mothers around the world.
Photo by Marc Laurin
HelloMonaco: Petra, why did you decide to be a model and how did you start your career as a model? Petra Němcová: Growing up under communism, you didn’ t have opportunities to follow your dreams until in 1989 when the velvet revolution happened and I was lucky to get opportunities. I always loved fashion and studied fashion design. In 1995, the opportunity to sign up for Elite Modelling Competition arose and I grabbed it wholeheartedly as I knew that through it I would be able to take care of my parents. They struggled their whole life and were giving everything to my sister and to me. I wanted to make their lives better.
HM: You grew up in a communist country. Do you think this experience helped you to become a successful model? PN: Definitely. I understood on a very deep level that opportunities to follow your dreams, to do what you love, to have the freedom of travel or food on the table are not given by birth. I worked extremely hard and took every opportunity out there to empower myself and my family.
HM: What is success to you? What are your criteria for success? PN: For me life is not about success. It is about living a fulfilling, happy life with a purpose.
HM: Tell us about All Hands and Hearts. What inspired you to create the foundation? PN: Many people think that I have started the foundation because of surviving the tsunami in 2004. The truth is that the tsunami experience opened my eyes to the incredible need which happens after the first responders leave following natural disasters. When they leave, children and families are often forgotten. For me, it was unacceptable that after suffering deeply, losing their homes, their schools, their family members and their friends, children still had to wait for years to have not just a school but a sense of normalcy and safety. We started a foundation in 2005 with a dream to build one school, and that big dream has been accomplished. Today, we have opened 208 schools in 11 countries around the world and have been able to help almost 1.2 million people. Last year, we have merged with another foundation focused on helping families after natural disasters. So today we are not only building disaster-stricken schools but we come in right after natural disasters to do first response and stay for the rebuilding of disaster-stricken schools as well as homes. In short, we come in early and stay late, which most foundations don’ t do. Often, they only stay for the first response phase, but what the families need is a long-term commitment.
HM: Who has helped you on your All Hands and Hearts journey? PN: I’ m proud of all of the volunteers and supporters who have made this accomplishment possible. This includes Chopard who has been a long-term partner for the foundation and who specially created a Happy Hearts Bracelet which supports school rebuilding, and also many other companies, such as Tumi, BlackRock, Airbnb, JP Morgan Chase and we have had the support of over 51,000 volunteers from 100 countries around the world.
HM: Can you say that the tsunami experience was a life-changing incident? How did it influence you? PN: The tsunami experience didn’ t change me as a human being but it changed my priorities in life. From focusing the majority of my time on work and a little bit on giving back to now spending about 70 % of my time on giving back and the rest on work … And, of course, I have more time for my family and friends. Now, my life is about living fully and meaningfully.
HM: During your modelling career, you managed to work with the most famous and talented designers, to shoot for the best magazines and sign contracts with popular world brands. Who influenced you the most? PN: My first role model was Audrey Hepburn. She used her acting platform to shed light on important issues and devoted much of her life to it. Of course, I didn’ t meet Audrey Hepburn, but one of my next role models was Christy Turlington as she herself also used her modelling career to do good. I got a chance to meet her many times!
Hello Monaco Summer – Autumn 2018 / 43