Tennis Champion Champions Orphans

Li Na, who is now ranked among the world’s top 10 tennis players, not only plays for China, she plays to win for those who have suffered the greatest loss. China’s newest orphans, the infants and children who lost their parents in the Yushu earthquake, will gain when China’s newest heroine wins.

Twenty-eight-year-old Li Na, who is participating in Sony Ericsson’s Women’s Tennis Association events, has decided to regularly donate the prize money she wins to the orphans in the Yushu area.

Her first gift to the orphans came last month, following her win at the Madrid Open.  Li personally visited our Huangnan Children Home and apart from donating 400,000 yuan, she gave the children some tennis tips!  There are 56 children in the Home who were relocated there from Yushu. A total of 321 children live in the Home.

Li Na said, "I was in Germany when the Yushu earthquake happened. I was shocked by the news and also deeply moved by the people's courage in the face of the tragedy. I was thinking about what I could do to help them recover from this catastrophe."

After visiting the Home, Li said she was glad to see that the orphans were ready to move on and forget the killer earthquake.  She said, "I was a little worried that they might still be influenced by (the) earthquake. But I found them to be very optimistic, wearing big smiles all the time. They are much better than I expected."

The children were shy at first, but soon opened up when they were told that they would have an opportunity to play on a mini tennis court with China’s champion. They had a great time although none of them had held a tennis racquet before.

Qi Xiujun, a social worker at the orphanage, said, “Celebrities like Li can inspire the orphans to live a better life."  But Li Na said it was the kids who inspired her. “I feel they are much stronger than us," she said. "They will inspire me to do better on the court in the future so I can return them some more love."

Surprisingly, Li, who made tennis history in China by being the first to win a WTA tour title; the first to make it to the quarterfinal stage of a Grand Slam event and the first to enter the world's top 10, said she was happier playing with the orphans than she has ever been on the professional court, adding that she would revisit the orphans after the China Open.  "The happiness here is more real and sincere," she said.  And the orphans’ happiness will continue as the children who are being championed by their heroine benefit from her wins.

There are many more children who have suffered the greatest loss of all, and need all the help they can get.  Will you think and pray about how you can champion their cause?