Irish missionary, 3-year-old latest kidnap victims in Haiti as gang violence continues
A 3-year-old toddler and seven adults, including a longtime missionary, who were kidnapped in the early morning Sunday in Haiti remain in the hands of armed gangs. The kidnapping occurred after a security breach at the Saint Hélène Orphanage in Kenscoff in the hills above gang-ridden Port-au-Prince.
The kidnapping was confirmed by Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, NPH International, in a statement on its website and its Haiti affiliate. NPH was founded by Father William Wasson, a Catholic priest, to serve vulnerable children. The charity operates in nearly two dozen countries across Latin America and Haiti.
Hours after the abduction, the charity’s Haiti branch, which cares for pregnant women and sick children, and has the country’s only pediatric cancer treatment, announced the closure of all of its doors until the “unconditional” release of all the kidnapped victims. The closure applies to all institutions belonging to the Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs–Haiti network, including Saint Damien Hospital, Life Program and Saint Luke Hospital, according to the announcement.
“With indignation and shock, we, members of Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs (NPFS) and the Saint Luke Foundation (FSL), strongly condemn this barbaric act that occurred early Sunday morning, August 3, 2025, around 3 a.m., at the Saint Hélène Home in Tèt Bwa-Pen, Obléon, in the commune of Kenscoff,” the statement said, adding that in light of the incident they were “obliged to make a difficult but necessary decision to say no to impunity, indifference, and the normalization of terror.”
Saint-Hélène’s director, Gena Heraty, was among those abducted.. An Irish national, Heraty has been working in Haiti since 1993. Among the orphaned children she helps care for are those with disabilities. .
The Sainte-Hélène Home is the very first program in its extensive Haiti program, NHP said. Of the 244 children, 58 are disabled. Children are aged 3 to 18 and have been abandoned or are unable to be cared for by families. They receive an education equivalent to middle school in France.
NPH International echoed the call for the release of those who have been kidnapped. “We request the immediate and safe release of Gena Heraty and the seven other individuals, and call for their safe return to their families and the NPH community,” the organization said.
For months Kenscoff has been under attack by members of the powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition, which has killed residents and forced many people from their homes. The community is home to rural farmers who live off the land as well as vacation homes belonging to some of the country’s wealthy.
Last week, the United Nations office in Haiti continued to sound the alarm over escalating violence. While attacks had slowed down in Port-au-Prince due to efforts by security forces, attacks continued, a report said.
At least 1,520 people were killed between April and June, the U.N. said, and at least 609 others were injured in armed violence, primarily in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, followed by Artibonite and center regions. In addition, there were at least 185 kidnappings and 628 victims of sexual violence.
The U.N. report also noted that at least 410 residences and other buildings, including six schools, health centers and local nongovernmental organizations were ransacked, burned or destroyed by gangs during the period.
“Gang attacks in the Artibonite and Center departments, and in the capital, continue to cause serious human rights violations and exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis, leading to massive population displacement with dramatic consequences for women and children in particular,” said Ulrika Richardson, the U.N. resident in Haiti.
While an anti-gang task force operating out of the prime minister’s office has been beefing up operations in the Kenscoff area, using helicopters and drones, the U.N. report said that the situation in the area remains “very volatile.”
“During the period new attacks were carried out by the gangs of Grand Ravine, Village de Dieu in the localities of Belot, Godot, Furcy, Kenscoff 77, Platon Café and Viard, killing at least 28 people,” the report said, noting that the group was made up of 19 men and nine women. “The victims were killed while inside their homes or while working in the fields.”
In an incident on April 24, four men held hostage in the Viard area were shot dead by members of the Village de Dieu gang. The killings were filmed and then shared on social media.
Outside the metropolitan area the situation remains critical.
Last month, a surge in violence in the small rural town of Liancourt led to several deaths, including that of three Haitian police officers. They were killed after being ambushed by the Gran Grif gang on July 22. Days of violent clashes in the area caused nearly 15,000 people to flee their homes, adding to the already record 1.3 million who are internally displaced, the U.N. said.
The escalation of violence in the Artibonite, considered Haiti’s breadbasket, is in stark contrast to the first three months of the year, the U.N. said, when the situation remained relatively calm due to the deployment of security forces and the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission.
“However, due to a lack of logistical resources and personnel, the security forces were unable to maintain their position and regain full control of the commune of Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite,” the report said. “The Gran Grif gang thus had time to reorganize itself to launch new attacks against several localities in the Lower Artibonite.”
In addition to the more than 100 people in the Artibonite who have died due to gang conflicts, more than 92,300 in the Lower Artibonite region have been displaced as of June 30th.
In early July, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced a new special representative in Haiti, Carlos G. Ruiz Massieu of Mexico to succeed María Isabel Salvador of Ecuador. Ruiz Massieu, who has served as special representative of the secretary-general in Colombia since 2019 monitoring the implementation of the peace agreement between the government of Colombia and the FARC-EP guerrillas, arrived in Haiti over the weekend. He has more than 30 years experience in diplomacy and the U.N.