U.S. striker Jozy Altidore, who was born in the USA to Haitian immigrants and now plays for the English Premier League's Hull City, has through personal donations and fund-raising contribute nearly $160,000 toward scholarships and water stations in Haiti, where the earthquake devastation has claimed more than 200,000 lives and left 1.2 million people homeless.

Altidore's parents, Joseph and Giselle, left Haiti to escape the brutal regime of President 'Papa Doc' Francois Duvalier, which eventually forced around one million people to emigrate. Since making his name with New York Red Bulls four years ago, Altidore has twice visited the island as part of a relief and coaching team under the umbrella of former teammate Seth Stammler's Sporting Chance Foundation and musician Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti charity.
 
"I always knew about how hard life was in Haiti, but I had to see it for myself to truly comprehend it," Altidore said. "To see kids like that wake up every day with a smile on their faces, just because it's a new day, was amazing. It was astonishing to see how poor they are, yet how resilient they are. Many people would not be able to go through it every single day of their lives, with no hope of it ever ending.

"I have seen ghettos - we weren't the richest growing up in New Jersey - and it was tough for my parents, but to see a baby waking up half-naked on a piece of cardboard on the street was absolutely shocking to me." Altidore reckons there are around 20 close family and friends still in Port-au-Prince, thankfully all accounted for since the earhquake.