Naomi Osaka announced that proceeds received from a tennis tournament she is scheduled to compete in this week will be given to relief efforts in Haiti following an earthquake that devastated the nation on Saturday, reports the Grio.
The tennis star made the announcement in a Twitter posting. The four-time Grand Slam winner wrote about the hardships that have befallen the Caribbean country.
“Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti, and I feel like we really can’t catch a break,” wrote Osaka, who is half Haitian by way of her father. “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 (sic) blood is strong we’ll keep rising.”
Haiti was hit with a 7.2 magnitude earthquake Saturday morning. The death toll topped 700 as of Sunday afternoon and more than 2,800 were injured in the disaster, according to Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection. The event comes just one month after the death of the nation’s president, Jovenel Moise, who was assassinated during a raid on his residence.
