An Irish missionary and a three-year-old child are among nine individuals abducted from the Sainte-Hélène orphanage near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in a brazen attack blamed on criminal gangs. The incident occurred early Sunday morning, with seven orphanage employees also taken during the raid.
Gena Heraty, a long-serving humanitarian from Liscarney, County Mayo, who has lived in Haiti since 1993, was among those kidnapped. Heraty is the director of the orphanage, which cares for over 240 children, including many with disabilities. She reportedly contacted the organisation that runs the orphanage, Our Little Brothers and Sisters, to confirm her abduction shortly after the incident.
According to Kenscoff Mayor Massillon Jean, the attackers breached a wall to access the premises and proceeded directly to the building where Heraty resided. No shots were fired, and the mayor described the kidnapping as a “planned act.” No ransom demands have been issued so far.
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has acknowledged the situation and is providing consular support. Heraty, who has previously received the Oireachtas Human Dignity Award for her work, had previously stated she would not abandon Haiti despite growing security threats. “The children are why I’m still here. We’re in this together,” she told The Irish Times in 2022.
The kidnapping took place amid escalating gang violence in Haiti. The Kenscoff area, on the outskirts of the capital, has seen a rise in gang incursions since early 2025. Gangs are estimated to control around 85% of Port-au-Prince and large portions of the country’s interior.
Efforts by Haitian police, supported by Kenyan officers and foreign contractors using drones, have so far failed to curb the violence. The United Nations reports nearly 350 kidnappings and over 3,000 killings in Haiti in the first half of 2025 alone. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has warned that the crisis is driving mass displacement, with 1.3 million people forced from their homes.
The international community continues to call for urgent action to restore stability in the deeply troubled Caribbean nation.
