Food For The Poor continues Haiti relief efforts despite civil unrest, kidnappings

MIAMI - Flights to and from Haiti continue to operate out of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport despite worsening conditions in the capital of Port-au-Prince. 

The U.S. State Department has issued a level 4 travel advisory, warning people not to travel to Haiti because of kidnappings crime and civil unrest in the capital. 

CBS News Miami spoke to a group of nurses returning from Haiti after a medical mission. They were in Cap-Haitien a few hours north of Port-au-Prince 

They say it's calm and safe there although their families were worried because of the unrest in the capital. 

The unrest isn't stopping the mission of Food for the Poor in Coconut Creek

The relief agency has a long-standing commitment to provide food and housing to people in desperate need "even though the situation is as bad as ever we are finding our way in," said CEO Ed Raine. 

Raine admits it hasn't been easy.  "We have had team members kidnapped and released. The further out from Port-au-Prince, the better."

"We're watching this situation very carefully. We're getting things done when these windows of opportunity occur," Raine said. "But we really know that this humanitarian crisis needs to be addressed on a much grander scale. We're trying to make sure that we're ready for a huge distribution of relief."

To date, the charity has packed and shipped 7,933 kits to Haiti.

"The kits already are being distributed, including to families in Baie-de-Henne, Haiti, who are still recovering from severe floods in early June," the agency said. "The urgency comes as nearly 5 million people are projected to be in acute hunger in Haiti – that's nearly half the country in the crisis stage of food insecurity, meaning they face above-average levels of malnutrition."

As much as 80 to 90 percent of Port-au-Prince is controlled by gangs, according to news reports.

Last week, an American nurse and her child were kidnapped in Haiti, according to El Roi Haiti, the Christian humanitarian aid organization she works for.

US authorities are aware of the abductions and are working with Haitian authorities and U.S. government interagency partners, according to a statement given to CNN by a State Department spokesperson.

"The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas," the spokesperson said.

Alix Dorsainvil, wife of El Roi Haiti Director Sandro Dorsainvil, and their child were reportedly abducted Thursday morning, according to a statement on El Roi Haiti's website.

The two were taken while serving in their community ministry on El Roi Haiti's campus near capital city Port-au-Prince, the post read.

"Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family. Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus," the statement said.

Dorsainvil, originally a nurse from New Hampshire, moved to Haiti after her husband invited her to a Haitian school to provide nursing care for the children, Dorsainvil said in a video on the organization's website.