Yvenson Bernard.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

WINNIPEG -- Yvenson Bernard watched the TV images from earthquake-ravaged Haiti for days, praying he wouldn't see his little brother's injured or dead body.

On Friday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back had his prayers answered when he learned his eight-year-old half-brother Sebastian had survived Tuesday's earthquake.

"I've never met him and he's a piece of me and a part of my family so I had an empty feeling (about the earthquake) and it felt like something was lost," Bernard said Saturday from his home in Oregon.

"So when I was get able to get in touch with him, I just felt like a person all over again, like a human."

Sebastian lives in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, where the earthquake's effects were catastrophic. An uncle had his legs crushed when a building he was in collapsed.

Bernard has yet to hear from his other aunts, uncles and cousins.

"I think they're a little bit more outside of Port-au-Prince so we haven't heard anything from them," said Bernard, 25.

His grandmother lives in Haiti, but she was visiting his father and other family members in Florida when the earthquake struck.

In less than two weeks, Bernard hopes to help his relatives in person.

He's going ahead with a trip to Haiti that was already planned for Jan. 27 to meet Sebastian for the first time.

"I had definitely looked really close when I saw the pictures (of the victims) and I looked all around CNN for pictures," Bernard recalled of the days following the quake.

"(Sebastian) wasn't in them and thankfully he's safe and everything's good."

Bernard's suitcases will be filled with some of the donations he's collected through fundraising efforts he's started in Oregon. He's asking for items like soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and clothing.

He's heard clothing may be able to be shipped out of Miami.

Support has come from his former Oregon State teammates and the Bombers, a squad he joined last year for his rookie CFL season.

"My teammates have emailed me and they've sent all their prayers out," said Bernard, who was born in Boca Raton, Fla., to Haitian parents.

Monetary donations are also coming into the Yvenson Bernard's Haiti Relief Fund and The International Sports Agency Children's Foundation (www.helpisakids.com).

Bernard, who rushed 53 times for 336 yards in 2009 with the Bombers, is also planning another trip to the island in March to help out wherever he can.

"I've always appreciated life," Bernard said. "But I think (the earthquake) reminded me that, 'Hey, you have a brother out there and this is a tragic event and that you need to do fundraising and try to help the country of Haiti and give back.'

"They've given me so much so I just feel like it's time for me to give them something."