Christian ministry in Haiti praying through tears as kidnapped nurse and daughter still missing

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Friday, August 04, 2023

American nurse, Alix Dorsainvil (L), and her husband, Sandro Dorsainvil (R), founder and director of the El Roi Academy and Institution Mixte Vwatizang Ayisyen Yo, a Christian ministry in Haiti. | El Roi Haiti

As they hit the one-week mark since New Hampshire nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter were kidnapped from their campus near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Christian education ministry, El Roi Haiti, said they have been aching and praying through tears for the release of their founder’s wife and daughter.

“We are at the one-week mark of Alix and her daughter’s kidnapping. Many tears have been shed this week but we, together with our team, are working and praying continuously to bring them home safely, and we continue to hold onto hope,” the ministry said in a statement Thursday about their nurse who was kidnapped on July 27.

Alix Dorsainvil married El Roi Haiti founder Sandro Dorsainvil in 2021 after she began her role as a school nurse with the organization in 2020. She is also a committed Christian who has been traveling to Haiti since 2010 and is described by the ministry as someone who “lives a life following in the footsteps of Jesus.”

Witnesses told The Associated Press that the New Hampshire nurse was busy caring for patients in a small brick clinic when armed men ambushed the site and took her captive.

Lormina Louima, a patient who was waiting for a check-up, told the news service that one man brandished a gun and ordered her to relax.

“When I saw the gun, I was so scared,” Louima told the AP. “I said, ‘I don’t want to see this, let me go.’”

Members of the community said the gunmen are demanding a $1 million ransom, but neither the U.S. Department of State nor El Roi Haiti have publicly shared any details of the investigation citing the sensitive nature of the situation.

On July 27, the same day Alix Dorsainvil was kidnapped, the U.S. State Department issued a Level 4 Travel Advisory asking Americans not to travel to Haiti, ordering all U.S. Citizens and non-emergency government employees to leave as soon as possible because of the unstable security and social conditions in the Caribbean nation.

“Kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens. Kidnappers may use sophisticated planning or take advantage of unplanned opportunities, and even convoys have been attacked. Kidnapping cases often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims have been physically harmed during kidnappings. Victim’s families have paid thousands of dollars to rescue their family members,” the advisory said.

“Violent crime, often involving the use of firearms, such as armed robbery, carjackings, and kidnappings for ransom that include U.S. citizens are common. Mob killings against presumed criminals have been on the rise since late April. Travelers are sometimes followed and violently attacked and robbed shortly after leaving the Port-au-Prince international airport. Robbers and carjackers also attack private vehicles stuck in heavy traffic congestion and often target lone drivers, particularly women,” the State Department added.

El Roi Haiti said in their statement that they are looking forward to the safe release of the kidnapped nurse and her daughter as officials in both the U.S. and Haiti continue working privately to secure her freedom.

“We continue to ask that no attempts be made to contact the family for comment at this time,” the ministry said while acknowledging their pain and find hope in the Gospel.

“El Roi is a Hebrew name of God found in the Bible, in the book of Genesis Chapter 16. In her desperate state, a suffering woman calls God ‘The God who sees me.’ We serve a loving and compassionate God who sees our suffering. He sees it now as we ache for news of Alix and her daughter’s safe release, He sees Alix and her daughter as they wait for freedom, and He sees the struggle of our Haitian friends who suffer daily,” the ministry said.

“We have this promise found in 1 Peter 5:10 that He not only sees our suffering but ‘In his kindness God called [us] to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus,’” they added.

“‘So after [we] have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen [us], and He will place [us] on a firm foundation.’”

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