Tennis Brings Smiles to Those Less Fortunate

Anna Kournikova recently visited Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Where there is poverty, there is often more misfortune; suffering population that deals with diseases, illiteracy, lack of sewage, waste management and water purification systems, and on top of that nature’s destruction in the form of seasonal hurricanes. Kournikova was asked by the PSI (Population Services International Group) to join them on this trip’s initiative of fighting AIDS and working alongside like programs. These services target kids ages 5 and under and their families by educating them on diseases like malaria, malnutrition, diarrhea and AIDS. Education is also provided on preventing these terrible diseases. “It’s been extremely difficult to try to describe and express what I saw while I was there,” says Kournikova in her blog. Kournikova met with local families and kids and watched the programs tasks unfold and even got to distribute malaria nets to villagers living in huts. “It was completely and devastatingly humbling to experience it all and it will certainly be something that stays with me. This trip made a huge impact on my life, both mentally and emotionally. I’m very thankful and honored that I was able to hear so many personal stories. I am grateful to so many of the kind Haitian people that opened up to a stranger and shared their thoughts and feelings with me,” confesses Anna Kournikova. The real question is who does Anna’s visit help more? Although her blog raises awareness for the awful conditions in Haiti, can a celebrity's visit make the poverty ridden villagers feel any better,and change these horrific conditions. Anna’s probably fully sponsored trip didn’t help to feed an extra family on the 5$ a day budget she describes. It’s really nice to see celebrities doing great charitable things, but sometimes it gets controversial when great charities rely on celebrities to raise everyone else’s awareness. So yes, it may be hard to encourage the 60% under 24 yr old population of Haiti to attend these PSI clinics and educational speeches without attracting them by putting on volleyball games, popular music and the presence of blonde beauties like Anna, but that sounds like a one time event rather than a constant commitment. It also doesn’t help that Anna is sporting her K-Swiss contract gear while posing with the kids.It is not enough to talk about these problems, but action is required to evoke change. Her sponsors should send financial help to the people she visited. Anna could use her website to encourage her fans to contribute to the cause. These things would certainly help. Her visit to bring awareness is just the first step. It would truly be great if she took the next step.Tennis Racquets For Kids, a tennis charity, is encouaged by efforts like this. We can only hope that efforts like this represents the beginning of a greater goal of helping all people.

Check out the links of these important sites:

http://www.psi.org/http://www.fiveandalive.org/http://www.youthaids.org/