El Roi Haiti, a Christian education ministry in Haiti, is urgently seeking prayers for the safe return of Alix Dorsainvil, a New Hampshire nurse, and her daughter, who were kidnapped while she was performing her duties for the ministry. The gang members responsible have reportedly demanded a $1 million ransom, leaving the community and her family concerned for their safety.
“Please continue to pray with us for the protection and freedom of Alix and her daughter,” the ministry wrote in a statement on Monday. “As our hearts break for this situation, we also continue to pray for the country and people of Haiti and for freedom from the suffering they endure daily.”
Dorsainvil has been visiting the country since 2010, shortly after a devastating earthquake struck. She officially joined El Roi Haiti as a nurse in 2020. Her marriage to the ministry’s founder, Sandro Dorsainvil, in 2021 further solidified her dedication to the cause.
The incident occurred on July 27 when armed men stormed El Roi Haiti’s campus near Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, and forcibly took Dorsainvil from her clinic, where she was caring for patients. Witnesses described the scene, with one patient recounting how a gunman ordered her to relax at gunpoint. The immediate aftermath prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a travel advisory, warning Americans not to travel to Haiti and urging U.S. citizens and non-emergency government employees to leave the country as soon as possible.
Members of the community have shared the gunmen are asking for a $1 million ransom, however 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.
“Obviously, the safety and security of American citizens overseas is our highest priority,” said Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department. “We are in regular contact with the Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners. But because it’s an ongoing law enforcement investigation, there’s not any more detail I can offer.”
The ministry has shared they will continue to work toward bringing Dorsainvil and her daughter home.
“We have committed this situation to God, knowing that He is good,” the ministry said, “so until Alix and her daughter are safely returned to us, we will do as it says in Psalm 27:14, ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.'”
