After a life-changing moment, Petra Nemcova is determined to change the world through her charitable organisation while working as a model and entrepreneur
With the overflowing excess of information on the Internet, it is common knowledge to not believe everything one sees online. But believe this: Petra Nemcova is every bit the cheerful, down-to-earth angel determined to spread joy and happiness. Facing a full day of interviews, photo shoots and events, Petra looks unfazed as she took a seat for her second interview of the day with Indonesia Tatler.
Petra is a supermodel, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. She started modelling at the age of 16 and has since become one of the most notable names in the modelling world. She has been featured in campaigns for Victoria’s Secret, Mercedes Benz and Bulgari, among many others. Petra is also the ambassador of Chopard and was featured on the cover of the 2003 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
In addition to her work as a model, Petra has also co-founded a home décor and lifestyle brand: Be The Light New York. Part of this brand, the World Collection, is a series of luxury candles inspired by Petra’s travels around the world. While it was difficult to choose favourites from so many wonderful places, Petra felt stronger connections to Haiti, Cusco in Peru, and Bali.
In 2004, Petra was caught up in one of the most devastating natural disasters of our time: the Indian Ocean tsunami. She had been in Thailand with her fiancé, Simon Atlee, when the monstrous wave hit without warning, followed by a second that dragged Petra into the water. For the next eight hours, she clung on to a palm tree, slipping in and out of consciousness from the unimaginable pain of a broken pelvis. She was eventually rescued and airlifted to a local hospital. Today, Petra is fully recovered and more determined than ever to change the world.
Petra is the founder of the Happy Hearts Fund (HHF), a charitable organisation that rebuilds safe and resilient schools in areas ravaged by natural disasters. After an emergency response is complete, schools can take up to six years to be rebuilt leaving countless children and members of the community stranded. As such, the organisation works during the gap period, significantly reducing the amount of time children are left without schools.
Since its inception in 2006, the foundation has grown to have a presence in 10 countries and has rebuilt 162 schools. Among all her work, running the foundation keeps Petra the busiest. Before landing in Jakarta, Petra had been at the opening of two new schools in the Philippines. Soon after, she will be flying to Peru to help with rebuilding efforts of areas devastated by the floods. Even on flights between the 10 countries, Petra is always on the lookout for new projects to help out even more.
This time, Petra is in Jakarta to collaborate with Chopard in an auction with proceeds that will go directly to HHF. When she first set out to help children in disaster-stricken zones, Petra had the grand ambition of helping children in every possible way.
“I wanted to help everyone—through educational help, medical help, and emotional support,” said Petra, recalling the early days of the HHF. It took a supporter of the organisation sending Petra three books—all on the subject of “focus”—for her to realise that the organisation would be able to do more good by focusing its efforts. Thus, it was decided that HHF would focus on children’s education.
Petra’s vision for HHF in the future is for it to become more sustainable and thus more impactful. For now, it is most important to get the children back to school and regain a sense of normalcy as soon as possible. Outside of her charity work, modelling and business interests, her biggest passion is her spiritual journey.
"It is a big part of my everyday life; a big part of what keeps me balanced and brings lots of joy,” said Petra of the spiritual journey that she has been on for the past 17 years.
Aside from meditating Petra attends various seminars and events with her friends. Being able to immerse in these experiences and getting to create lasting memories with her friends brings Petra immense happiness. In addition to her spiritual journey, dancing also makes her very happy.
“Dancing always makes me very happy too,” said Petra. “If I can combine my work with Happy Hearts, my modelling work and dancing, then it would be perfect!” Even with years of experience, Petra is still working on finding the perfect balance between her multiple endeavours. Lucky for her, she absolutely loves every minute of it.
For aspiring models and entrepreneurs, Petra strongly believes that it is most important to believe in one’s dreams and goals. The crucial step comes in visualising them clearly and putting in the hard work.
“Persevere. While you may not accomplish something on your first try, try and try again. Approach it with a different angle after each failure, and eventually you will achieve your goals and dreams.”
(Text by: Kevin Sjahrial; Photography by: Heri B Haryanto)