An American volunteer nurse and her child have been kidnapped in Haiti.
Alix Dorsainvil and her young daughter were abducted on Thursday morning from the campus of the nonprofit El Roi Haiti, where Ms Dorsainvil works. The organisation runs a school and ministry in Port au Prince.
The nurse, who is originally from Middleton, New Hampshire, is married to El Roi programme’s director Sandro Dorsainvil.
“Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family,” El Roi president and co-founder Jason Brown said in a statement. “Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus.”
The US State Department said it is aware of reports of the kidnapping. The department has issued a “do not travel” advisory, noting that kidnapping in Haiti is “widespread, and victims regularly include US citizens”
“We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our US government interagency partners,” a spokesperson said.
Kidnappings in the area usually involve ransom negotiations and in the past, US citizen victims have been physically harmed.
Ms Dorsainvil attended Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts. The university’s president Toni Hays said that service had been important to Ms Dorsainvil while she was a student at the school.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Alix chose to get involved in this type of service work,” Mr Hays told WMUR-TV. “She was amazing. She was passionate, she was compassionate.”
In a video posted on El Roi’s website, Ms Dorsainvil said that she was invited by her husband to join the volunteer team in Haiti.
“Sandro invited me to the school to do some nursing for the kids, he said that was a big need they had,” Ms Dorsainvil said. “When I got there, there were so many cases ... Haitians are such resilient people, they’re full of joy and life and love.”
The US State Department has ordered non-emergency personnel to leave Haiti amid growing security concerns.
Earlier this month, the National Human Rights Defence Network issued a report warning about an upsurge in killings and kidnappings and the UN Security Council met to discuss Haiti’s worsening situation.
