The Vi Bella metal nativity art is made by hand in Croix-des-Bouquets, a small village outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. For years, the Haitian people have made beautiful art out of steel oil drums, turning waste into something beautiful with just a hammer and a chisel.  

Vi Bella was started in 2011, shortly after our Founder, Julie Hulstein, traveled to Haiti for the first time to help with relief efforts after a large earthquake devastated much of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. She saw many wonderful NGOs providing immediate assistance but saw a greater need for long term, steady employment. She learned that over 80% of the children in Haitian orphanages had at least one living parent who was simply financially unable to provide for the child’s basic needs. If these parents were only able to make a consistent income, they could provide for their children and lead their families out of generational poverty. Vi Bella was born out of Julie’s desire to keep families together and provide safe and encouraging job opportunities in a Christ-centered environment.  

Faithbox’s order of the metal nativity art in this month’s box is making a huge impact on Jhonson and his team of 8 artisans in Haiti, and has provided two months worth of work to these 9 artisans! The village where they all live and work, Croix-des-Bouquets, has been under heavy attack by gangs vying for control of the area. Due to all the unrest in Haiti, there is also extreme inflation on food and gasoline that is causing communities to starve. This order helps Jhonson and his team to survive at a time when it seems the odds are stacked against them.