Haiti and Sam Dalembert

According to NBC News, every single hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti has either been destroyed or abandoned in the wake of the 7.0 earthquake that hit yesterday. News reports seem to be in consensus that over 100,000 people will die from the quake. Certainly an earthquake that large would have devastating affects anywhere in the world, but in Haiti it's especially cruel.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and based on its GDP, Haitians live on a little more than $1 a day. Moreover, the approximate population of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, is 1.7 million. For some perspective, that would make the city larger than Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio and Dallas.

Imagine being in a city slightly larger than Philadelphia and living on less than $2 a day after a 7.0 earthquake just hit and there are no hospitals to go to.

At all.

For a little more perspective consider this: Sixers' center Sam Dalembert was born in Port-au-Prince in 1981 and now his city is mere rubble.

Dalembert was 2 when his family moved to Montreal where he was raised, but he has been active in providing aid to Haiti long before yesterday's earthquake. As my friend and Sixers' beat scribe, Dennis Deitch, from the Delaware County Daily Times wrote this morning:

Hey, Philly: Sam Dalembert is Haitian-born. This is when you show greatness as fans & show him support in this time of strife.

I couldn't agree more.Check out the web site for Dalembert's foundation where there is even more information about his birth country.