TOWN defender Lecsinel Jean-Francois is asking everyone in Swindon to pray for his 11-year-old sister who is still missing in the Haiti disaster zone.

The 23-year-old player has spoken of his heartbreak at not knowing if his youngest sibling is still alive having been unable to get in contact with any of the ten aunties and uncles who are also missing in the country.

A large number of the Haiti international’s family still live in the country and his sister Erika was visiting his grandmother for a few months when the earthquake hit.

His mum flew back to her home in France just a day before the quake.

He said: “Please make a prayer.

“I have been trying to call and to text but we have no news. The country is totally poor and this is going to make it even more poor.

“It is very hard but we make a prayer for everyone.

“Everybody in the team has been trying to help me including the gaffa.

“Really, playing football is not helping – I forget everything when I am playing but when I finish it all comes back – it only helps for two hours.

“Watching the TV you can see how difficult it is to find anyone.

“No-one knows if someone was inside the house. Maybe she was outside and with some people who don’t know her. I am still hoping for good news.”

His family live in the country’s capital Port-au-Prince, the area worst hit by the earthquake a week ago today.

Recent reports have estimated that the quake, the worst in the country for more than 200 years, has left around 200,000 people dead.

Last week Swindon Town FC joined forces with Swindon’s Afro Caribbean Association to launch a funding, food and clothing drive based at the County Ground to help send relief to families devastated by the disaster.

Lecsinel, known to his team mates as ‘Lex’, has urged everyone in the town to help in anyway they can.

“Anything you can do – anything is going to help, even £1 is going to help a lot,” he said.

Town manager Danny Wilson has said the club is offering the defender all the support they can.

He said: “Sometimes football is a nice respite.

“If he wanted to have the time off, he can have it. I would not stop him.”

All donations should be dropped off at the reception at the County Ground.

Defender has appeared four times for Haiti
LECSINEL Jean-Francois was born on October 2, 1986, in the town of Cayenne in French Guyana as one of seven siblings.

The defender began his footballing career in France where he came through the youth team ranks at Paris St Germain before making the switch to CS Sedan Ardennes in 2004.

At the beginning of 2006, after two years without a first team run out, Lecsinel crossed the channel and made a beeline for Scotland where he signed a short-term contract with Scottish Premier League side Falkirk.

The Haitian’s spell north of the border was short-lived, however, and Lecsinel returned to France having appeared just nine times for the Bairns.

By the end of the season he had found his way onto the books at Ligue 2 side Guingamp, where he would remain until summer 2008.

In that time Lecsinel was only offered the occasional outing, and when an offer of a trial at Aberdeen arrived in July 2008 it was too good to turn down.

Eventually that trial would prove to be unsuccessful, but six months later the tall left-footed player was offered another chance of a professional contract in Britain.

Lecsinel impressed Robins boss Danny Wilson sufficiently in a reserve team clash with Swansea City in January last year to earn a five-month deal until the end of the last League One campaign.

After making his English league debut as a second-half substitute against Millwall in February, Lecsinel was given his first Swindon start in the season’s closing showdown with Peterborough.

Last summer the 23-year-old was one of just four players to be offered a contract extension by the club and signed a one-year add-on in May.

Lecsinel has turned out for Haiti four times at international level – he qualifies to represent the country – through his parents’ nationality - whilst he has pulled on the red shirt of Town 25 times.