Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert sprinted through Philadelphia International Airport as he made his way to the Wachovia Center for a game against the Portland Trail Blazers late Wednesday afternoon. But you could tell that Haiti was still on his mind.
The Haitian-born player had just returned from a trip to the island nation, which was devastated by a colossal 7.0 magnitude earthquake a little more than a week ago.
Dalembert, 28, traveled home Monday with aid group Project MediShare after playing in a game against Minnesota.
He and former NBA star Alonzo Mourning helped with the relief effort -- focusing on orphaned children. The center gave a few emotional words about the experience after Wednesday's loss to the Trail Blazers.
"We're asking people, we're asking people to help," Dalembert said as tears streamed down his face. "I've got a hundred people who wants to adopt…"
Dalembert expressed frustration over the speed in which adoptions were being processed in the country. In contrast, the U.S. expedited hundreds of Haitian adoptions that were near finalization, last week.
The 6-foot-11 star personally donated $100,000 to Haitian relief efforts and has a charity organization called the Dalembert Foundation -- which was started in 2008.
If you would like to help the people of Haiti, make a donation to a local or national relief organization.
You can also watch our special Haitian relief program Philadelphia's Hope for Haiti this Friday at 7 p.m. on NBC10 to learn how you can get involved.
