The American nurse and her child who were kidnapped July 27 in Haiti are now free.
“It is with a heart of gratitude and immense joy that we at El Roi Haiti confirm the safe release of our staff member and friend, Alix Dorsainvil and her child who were held hostage in Port au Prince, Haiti,” the Christian organization El Roi Haiti said Aug. 9 in a statement. “Today we are praising God for answered prayer.”
No other details on the release were immediately available.
The Christian organization’s statement requested that the mother, her daughter and their family not be contacted and be allowed to have time to “process and to heal.”
Authorities in the U.S. and Haiti have been working to secure their freedom since news of the kidnapping first broke. Dorsainvil worked at El Roi’s ministry site near Port-au-Prince, where she and her daughter were reportedly taken.
Protests and prayers
In recent days, Haitians have protested Dorsainvil’s kidnapping and the violence in their country outside the clinic where she was working at the time of the kidnapping.
“We are so thankful for all of the support that has been shown,” El Roi said during the ordeal, as they requested prayer for the mother and daughter’s release.
The U.S. Department of State has issued a do-not-travel advisory for Haiti due to a rise in violent crime and civil unrest in the country.
“Kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens,” according to the advisory.
Serving others
In their July 31 update, El Roi shared about Dorsainvil’s service in Haiti, which began with a college trip in 2010.
Originally from New Hampshire, she worked as a nurse in the U.S. and saved money to take trips to Haiti before eventually moving there. She joined El Roi staff as a school nurse in 2020 and married Sandro Dorsainvil, its ministry director, in 2021.
