We, the family of Gena Heraty, are absolutely devastated by the awful news that Gena and seven of her colleagues were kidnapped from the orphanage grounds in Kenscoff, Haiti, on August 3rd, 2025.
Gena has lived and worked in Haiti since 1993. She is the Director of Special Needs Programmes at Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs (NPFS), an organisation that supports children and young adults living with disabilities. NPFS is part of the Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) network (www.nph.org).
The situation is evolving and deeply worrying. We are working closely with NPFS in Haiti and Ireland, the Irish Government, and international partners, who are doing everything possible to ensure the safe and immediate release of Gena and her colleagues.
NPFS Haiti is working actively to ensure the ongoing safety and well-being of all the children and workers at the orphanage in Kenscoff during this challenging time.
We ask that you keep Gena and her colleagues in your hearts as we pray for their safe return.
Out of respect for the ongoing efforts and for Gena’s safety, we are not in a position to share further details at this time.
NPH Ireland are aware of the serious security incident that occurred yesterday, August 3rd, with our affiliate organisation NPH International at their St. Helene property in Haiti. Seven staff members of NPH International, including Gena Heraty, and also one youth were taken from the premises in an incident that remains under assessment.
Given the evolving nature of this situation, we are withholding further comment until more details are confirmed. We ask for discretion and patience as we manage this sensitive matter.
Our thoughts are with the eight individuals, and we remain hopeful for their safe return. The Department of Foreign Affairs has been informed of the incident and is providing consular assistance.
Media Contact: Nicholas Rogers Director of Communications NPH International [email protected]
Jean Max is a young radiologist, who studied medicine with financial support from NPH.
He was determined to help his country but he wanted to be well prepared to do so, and therefore chose to study at one of the few universities still standing in Port au Prince after the 2010 earthquake.
He’s been working for some years now at St. Damien Paediatric Hospital, providing assessments and diagnoses, especially in the area of maternity and gynaecology. He gets satisfaction from helping to improve lives in his country.
Jean Max has experienced first hand the suffering of many Haitians since the earthquake of 14 August, and the initial anguish of not knowing whether those of his family living in the South-West had were still alive, in the areas around Les Cayes and at Perenie in the countryside.
Everything lost
Jean Max’s family home
The first news he received was that his aunt and uncle had lost their home and their lifetime belongings. Jean Max then heard that an uncle had died during the earthquake.
A gang blocks access
Some days later he decided to go to Perenie with a cousin and an uncle, to provide support to his family. However, they were unable to get there because of a gang controlling road access to Les Cayes, near Martissant. “They prevented us from getting through to the area affected, where my family lives, which was a real disaster for us”, says Jean Max.
After talking by phone they received photos showing that his family had lost everything: their home, garden, animals and personal belongings.
Jean Max’s family home
They need shelter from the tropical storms, bedding, a new home and everything to put their life back together. Emotionally they have suffered the loss of a loved one, and they will have to manage that loss as best they can during this humanitarian disaster.
Aid yet to arrive
Jean Max’s family live in the countryside, in the Perenie area, isolated from international aid, which is arriving chiefly at the large cities such as Jeremies and Les Cayes.
They hope that NPH Haiti can help them to overcome their tragic personal situation. NPH Haiti is evaluating the situation of dozens of families in similar circumstances to Jean Max’s family to see how they can deliver aid as swiftly as possible in such adverse conditions.
More than 1.5 million earthquake victims are experiencing similar dramatic situations and they are waiting for our support.
It’s tough to get aid to the victims of the earthquake for various reasons: roads cut and collapsed bridges make it very tough to get through to the areas affected.
Injured baby receiving treatment from NPH
Gangs and storms
Gangs all around the capital, Port de Prince, and in the areas worst affected, Jeremies y Les Cayes, add an extra layer of difficulty. Additionally, Storm Grace hit the South-West immediately after the earthquake.
In spite of all these difficulties, your donations from NPH Ireland are getting through, via our local organization, NPH Haiti, and also the related organization, St. Luke Foundation for Haiti.
Short- and long-term support
We have managed to get through by road and sea to the worst-affected areas in the South-West. NPH is providing medical care to the sick and injured and is delivering water, food, shelter and psychological support.
Aid from you on route to the victims
At the same time we are preparing an aid plan for the victims in the medium and long term (reconstruction of homes, planting crops and reviving the countryside as a means of sustainable support for those affected). NPH has been offering care to those we have encountered on route, as well as those in the worst-affected areas.
The Haitians are accustomed to suffering and to keeping their spirits up, but they really need our help in the face of this new humanitarian disaster.
Local staff committed to their country
Our organizations in Haiti (NPH Haiti and the St. Luke Foundation) are staffed by trained local staff, with a very high commitment to their country and its communities. They speak the local languages, French and creole, which is essential for doing their work and showing their compassion with those in need.
NPH has the necessary experience on the ground: 35 years developing education, health and nutrition programmes, as well as our involvement in humanitarian emergencies. We help to improve the lives of more than 100,000 Haitians every year.
Aid delivered directly by NPH
Donations received from our supporters are managed directly by NPH Haiti and the St. Luke Foundation for Haiti, allowing us to ensure their efficient and effective use in improving and saving lives.
Thank you for your commitment
We are grateful for your support. Don’t forget Haiti. And, please, keep the donations coming.
The number of dead has now risen to 1,800, with over 5,000 injured. Some 1.5 million Haitians are thought to have been affected by the earthquake in the South-West of Haiti, in particular in Jeremie and Les Cayes.
Efforts are still underway to rescue survivors. In the affected areas there is widespread devestation – destruction of hospitals, schools, churches and homes. Many Haitians are sleeping in the open air, in part for fear of further tremors. Towns and countryside alike have been badly affected. There is a desperate need for international aid.
NPH is delivering aid
NPH’s emergency aid is focussed on the essentials: water, food, shelter, medical supplies and care, and transport for supplies and for the injured.
50 beds at St. Luke Hospital dedicated to the injured
St. Luke Hospital has reserved 50 beds for the first seriously injured victims being transported by air from Les Cayes and Jeremie. The majority of the injured are being taken to hospitals in Port au Prince, and NPH is providing them CT scans and x-rays free of charge.
Medical supplies for local hospitals
Thanks to the contacts of the St. Luke Foundation in the affected areas, NPH is able to deliver medical supplies to the few hospitals that exist. This aid will continue for as long as necessary.
NPH local medical presence
The local medical team of the St. Luke Foundation is caring for the people affected in Les Cayes and Camp Perin from temporary clinics based in camps.
For a local perspective, we recommend you read a personal take from Father Rick Frechette of the St. Luke Foundation.
Support for isolated areas
NPH is contacting medical personnel attending to the injured in areas that have been cut off such as Duchity, Pestel, Baraderes, y Petit Trou. We will supply the medical aid needed for their care.
Via Bishop Dumas in the areas of Anse and Veau, and via Bishop Decostes in the Jeremie area, we are establishing how to deliver emergency aid to those affected.
A roof for 250 families
After initial inspections we have established that there is an urgent need for shelter, especially now that tropical storms are reaching Haiti. We are selecting the most vulnerable families affected by the earthquake, in Petit Trou and Nippes.
NPH will focus chiefly on bringing emergency aid to people in the countryside, who to date have largely not benefited from international aid. Our initial aim is to support 250 vulnerable families.
NPH families affected
Many of local teams working at the Key Germain programme for children and adults with special needs have family members who have lost everything because they lived in the affected areas. They need NPH’s support in the shape of food, shelter and water. Your donations will help to cover the basic needs of at least 15 families.
Follow-up impact measurement
All money donated to NPH Ireland will go to support people affected by the earthquake. NPH will be doing follow-up studies to establish the benefit to affected people of our work.
Challenging conditions for aid delivery
Conditions could scarcely be more difficult for delivering aid: shortage of supplies, damaged roads, control of some areas by armed gangs, difficulties of coordinating international aid, lack of qualified personnel and ongoing violations of children’s human rights, etc.
NPH has the skills and experience
Thirty-five years of experience in Haiti, including with similar emergencies such as the 2010 earthquake, have given NPH the experience to give the benefit of your donations efficiently and effectively to those affected by the earthquake. An essential factor in our ability to deliver is our local team of Haitians, committed to the mission of NPH in their country.
Your role in this humanitarian drama
We need your support in the face of this overwhelming humanitarian drama, made worse by the tropical storms now making landfall in Haiti.
