Lay missionary and 3-year-old boy kidnapped from orphanage in Haiti

On the morning of Sunday, Aug. 3, nine people working at an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, were kidnapped. Among them was a lay missionary and a disabled child, barely 3 years old.

According to the pontifical news agency Fides, the orphanage is located in Kenscoff, a town on the outskirts of the capital. It is run by the international charity Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs (Our Little Brothers and Sisters) and houses more than 240 children. The other seven people kidnapped are employees of the institution.

The kidnapped missionary is Gena Heraty, who has worked in the Caribbean country for more than 30 years. According to Fides, she was inside the orphanage when the criminals broke in, taking her and a disabled 3-year-old child.

In recent months, Haiti has been engulfed in a spiral of violence unleashed by criminal gangs operating freely and controlling approximately 80% of the Port-au-Prince area.

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