On Saturday August 14th, Haiti was hit with a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which so far has killed at least 304 people and injured an additional 1,800, according to CNN. This has been a shock for everyone and during times of turmoil, you see people rally together to help. The tennis star Naomi Osaka recently announced on Twitter that she’ll be donating any prize earnings from the Western & Southern Open to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.
“Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti, and I feel like we really can’t catch a break,” she wrote. “I’m about to play a tournament this week and I’ll give all the prize money to relief efforts for Haiti. I know our ancestors blood is strong we’ll keep rising.” Osaka has a personal connection to Haiti as her father is from the island.
“The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble,” Prime Minister Henry said in a statement, per The Associated Press. “We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people…. The needs are enormous. We must take care of the injured and fractured, but also provide food, aid, temporary shelter and psychological support.”
Osaka’s donation will be a huge aid as the Western & Southern Open begins on Monday in Cincinnati, OH. It has been reported that the women’s singles winner predicted to win $255,220, while the runner-up will be awarded $188,945.
