An American nurse and her child were kidnapped near Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince on Thursday.  El Roi Haiti, a Christian humanitarian organization, has identified the woman as Alix Dorsainvil. Dorsainvi works for the nonprofit organization, and her husband and the child’s father, Sandro Dorsainvil, is the organization’s founder and director of operations in Haiti.

Dorsainvil, who hails from New Hampshire, lived and worked in Port-au-Prince as a nurse at the school run by El Roi Haiti.  The organization said that Dorsainvil and the child were kidnapped from the organization’s campus near Port-au-Prince on Thursday morning “while serving in our community ministry.”

El Roi Haiti “aims to expand access to affordable education and teaches a faith-based curriculum.”  Jason Brown, the president and co-founder of El Roi Haiti Outreach International, said in a statement shared to the organization’s website: “Our team at El Roi Haiti is grateful for the outpouring of prayers, care, and support for our colleague. We continue to work with our partners and trusted relationships to secure their safe return.” Brown said Dorsainvil is “a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family … Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus Thank you for your support and compassion during this on-going situation. We would request that no attempts be made. to contact the family for comment at this time.” Brown asked the public to “refrain from speculating on social media about this situation in order to protect Alix and her child during this time” and said that any updates will be shared to the El Roi Haiti website.

Federal officials in the United States said they are in contact with Haitian authorities, and a spokesperson for the State Department said in a statement: “The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. We are aware of reports of the kidnapping of two U.S. citizens in Haiti.  We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners. We have nothing further to share at this time.”

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