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Keith and Cookie Davis run an organization called "Ministry of Blessing Others" and they represent the bridge between Haiti and Operation DREAM. Keith was born in Lexington, North Carolina and use to work as a personal trainer. He always had a heart of service, volunteering to work with at-risk youth in many different mentoring roles. After that, Keith worked for a mental health company, working with teens in the criminal justice system. Before the big earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010, Keith took a course on digging wells, in hopes of traveling to a third world country some day. It was then that Keith met a family in North Carolina that works with struggling villages in Haiti. The family told him that many of the villages desperately needed clean water, and they invited Keith on their next trip to Haiti. Anxious to try out his brand new well-digging skills, Keith accepted the invitation. Keith soon found himself in one of the poorest villages in Haiti called Dilaire. As he went to work, digging a well for these desperate people, he was moved by their amazing gratitude as well as their awful circumstances. He was drawn to the people immediately. But if you ask Keith, the thing that closed the deal for him was what he saw on the other side of the village: Lourdes Cuevas, aka Cookie! She was born in the Dominican Republic in a town called Dajabon, right on the border with Haiti, just minutes from Dilaire. Cookie grew up and went to college in Santiago, DR, which is three hours from her hometown. She worked as an interior designer, volunteering most of her free time in the barrios of Santiago, working with underprivileged kids who couldn't read or write. In 2009, Cookie made the commitment to full-time ministry. Although the poverty in Santiago was and still is severe, Cookie knew that the suffering in Dilare was even worse. So, uncertain of how she would support herself, Cookie decided to move back to Dajabon, where she felt that she could do the most good. |
Keith and Cookie met in 2010, while working independently in Dilaire, Haiti, introduced to each other by the same family that invited Keith to Haiti. Eight months later, Keith and Cookie got married, committing themselves to each other, and devoting their lives to the village and people that brought them together. Baby Isaac came along a year later! The well that Keith dug in 2010 is still providing clean water, the lifeblood of Dilaire. To date, several latrines have been built, vegetable gardens have been planted, a large pavilion has been constructed for school and church, and a chicken coop now supplies eggs for sale to support the facility. Locals are being taught to be self-sufficient while others are being developed as leaders. Keith and Cookie have also established a school program, approved by the government of Haiti, so that orphans and homeless children can actually get a formal education. The volunteer principal of the school is Pastor Joazad, a local Haitian community leader. Keith and Cookie have hired three part-time credentialed teachers that are paid $70 US per month. Keith and Cookie report that when food arrives from Operation DREAM, about 100 kids show up for a meal. The next day, over 200 kids come to see if there is another meal being served. If there is, even more children (300+) will come around on the third day! Partnering with Keith and Cookie Davis, Operation DREAM has provided life-saving food to hungry children in Dilaire, Haiti since 2010. |
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