Irish aid worker Gena Heraty who was kidnapped by a criminal gang in Haiti is said to be recovering following her release last Friday.
Ms Heraty, a native of Westport in Co Mayo, who is in her mid-50s and has lived in Haiti since 1993, oversees the Sainte-Helene orphanage in the commune of Kenscoff, about 10km southeast of the capital, Port au Prince.
She was abducted along with six others and a child from the orphanage in Kenscoff on 3 August.
Hugh Brennan, a board member of NPH Ireland, a charity which supports people with disabilities in Haiti, knows Ms Heraty and has been in touch with her supporters.
He said she is doing "very well" and is in "very good spirits".
Mr Brennan said Ms Heraty has been to see the children in the orphanage since her release.
He said that knowing her, if anyone was not being fed properly during their near month of captivity, she would "ensure that she wasn't being fed either," so reports that she has been treated for malnourishment "does not surprise" him "if anybody else was being treated for malnourishment".
He said that a young child who had also been kidnapped is also "doing very well" after being in hospital for a number of days and who is now back in the orphanage.
Mr Brennan said it was a "staggered release" of Ms Heraty and the other hostages "over a number of days".
'Very little' known
He said she and one other hostage were the last to be freed, and other than that "very little" else is known.
He said he has not spoken directly to Ms Heraty following the ordeal or anyone involved "so we're just not privy to that information", including whether any ransom was paid either by NPH or the orphanage or the Irish Government to secure their release.
He said the children in the orphanage have now been moved to "another secure location", which he said he hopes is temporary.
"We hope the police will take charge or be able to take charge of these various areas [of Port-au-Prince] again with international support," he said.
His understanding is that it is Ms Heraty's intention to remain in Haiti and to return to work with the children, who he described as "severely physically and mentally" disabled.
"She is committed and NPH International are committed as well.
"There is such a need for that kind of help in Haiti, in a country where there's no safety net.
"Honestly, we've asked if she's even going to come home and we're told we don't know.
"She says they're her family and she is not going to abandon her family," Mr Brennan added.
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