🇭🇹 Irish Missionary, Child Among 8 Abducted As Armed Gangs Storm Haiti Orphanage

 

The Saint-Hélène Orphanage in Kenscoff becomes the latest casualty in Haiti’s escalating gang violence, forcing farmers to abandon crops as communities flee in fear.

Zig Diaries Humanitarian

Date: Tuesday, 5 August 2025
Time: 17:00 WAT
Location:📍 Kenscoff, Haiti

Gunmen linked to a notorious gang alliance abducted eight people from a rural orphanage outside Port-au-Prince, further worsening Haiti's humanitarian crisis.

Haiti’s rural community of Kenscoff has once again fallen under the grip of violent armed gangs after gunmen stormed the Saint-Hélène Orphanage on Sunday, abducting eight individuals, including a 3-year-old child and an Irish missionary known for her decades-long service to children with disabilities.

Among those taken is Gena Heraty, an Irish national who has lived in Haiti since 1993. Heraty is widely known for her humanitarian work at the orphanage, which she helped rebuild after a previous attack in 2013. Sunday’s assault marks a devastating return of violence to a facility that had once been a sanctuary for Haiti’s most vulnerable children.

The orphanage lies in Kenscoff, a mountainous agricultural zone now overtaken by the gang alliance “Viv Ansanm”, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Local farmers say they are abandoning their lands as fear spreads like wildfire. The violence comes just as the agricultural season begins, placing families in deeper jeopardy.

“There is almost no one left in the neighborhood. We can't work here with worried hearts at all times,” said Sala Désire, a local farmer. “You see armed gangs, people coming towards you, telling you to run or stop.”

Another farmer, Joceline Souffrant, added: “We are running when we should be caring for our plantation. We have to plant beans, but we can't because of the situation. Everyone is running. We can't stay in the area because of the shooting. We can't relax.”

UNICEF and Haitian authorities have begun emergency efforts to relocate dozens of children and orphanage staff to safer zones, though access to some areas remains limited.

The attack adds to Haiti’s rapidly deepening humanitarian crisis, with over one million people already displaced by criminal violence and lawlessness. The UN and aid agencies continue to call for international support, but many Haitians feel abandoned by both their government and the global community.

🏷️Tags: Haiti Crisis, Gena Heraty, Gang Violence, Orphanage Attack, Humanitarian Emergency
#Haiti #Kenscoff #GangViolence #GenaHeraty #VivAnsanm #ChildProtection #ZigHumanitarian