Supermodel Alek Wek, a Sudanese native, spoke at Georgian Court Tuesday night, trying to bring attention to the genocide that has swept her African homeland, reports Asbury Park Press. The 27-year-old has been trying to use the fame she’s gained as a model to help the region where a civil war that began in 1983 has left tens of thousands dead and driven millions of refugees from their homes.

Wek told the crowd of more than 130 people at the university’ Casino Building that she doesn’t advocate for the rebels or the government.

“At the end of the day, when you’re walking through the village . . . it wasn’t the rebels saving my life, it wasn’t the government saving my life,” she said. “We were trying to save our lives.”

5-foot-11-inch exotic dark-skinned beauty was raised in the Dinka tribe in Sudan’s southern region but fled to England at the age of 14. Runway shows and photo shoots for magazine covers began when she was discovered four years later.