The Irish aid worker and missionary Gena Heraty was in charge of the orphanage Sainte-Hélène outside Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince. She and seven others were taken captive when armed attackers stormed the orphanage's main building on August 3.
Now they have been released. Gena Heraty's family writes in a statement that they are "deeply grateful" to everyone who worked to help secure the release during "these terrible weeks", according to The Guardian.
None of the eight who were kidnapped should, according to a statement from Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris, be physically injured.
Haiti has been in a spiral of violence for a long time, where criminal gangs have controlled almost the entire capital since earlier this year. The UN-backed police force in the country has not been able to stop the gangs' frequent raids around the city.
Authorities have, among other things, deployed armed drones and hired mercenaries to try to regain control of the city, reports The Guardian.
