Last week, Peter Greenberg hosted the annual World Travel Awards in London. The winner of the first World Tourism Humanitarian Award was Petra Nemcova, who has done amazing work with her Happy Hearts Fund.

Petra Nemcova,  an international supermodel, was inspired to create her charity fund after surviving the 2004 tsunami attack in Thailand. Nemcova was with her photographer and fiancee, Simon Atlee, when the disaster occurred.

Atlee tragically drowned, but Nemcova managed to grab onto a palm tree, where she hung for eight hours before Thai civilians rescued her. Her injuries were so severe that medical officials said she might never walk again, but has since fully recovered.

By the end of this year, in memory of the 10th anniversary of the 2004 tsunami, her group will have built more than 100 schools in nine countries around the world hit hard by natural disasters.

Petra’s story is an inspiring one of survival, resilience, vision, hope and….action. To learn more about the great work she is doing, and how you can get involved….go to the Happy Hearts Fund website.

By Peter Greenberg for PeterGreenberg.com