A show of manger scenes awakened the joy typical of the approaching Christmas festivities among the Venezuelans housed in the city of Boa Vista, capital of the state of Roraima, North of Brazil.

The exhibit was conducted on November 24, 2018, in the shelter Tancredo Neves, one among the ten shelters created by the Brazilian Government in Roraima and one of the four shelters managed by Fraternidade – International Humanitarian Federation (FIHF), as part of the Humanitarian Roraima Mission.

Seven creations of those housed in the shelters themselves were exhibited. According to Mercedes, a missionary of Fraternidade and coordinator of the artisanship project in the shelter Tancredo Neves, the initiative of elaboration of the manger scenes came from those assisted themselves. “They said, ‘Let us make a manger scene’, and I agreed. And on this very same day, it began”.

Manger scenes in family

Those assisted suggested a name for the exhibit: “The tree of the birth of the Child King is the united family”, in the sense of gathering all those assisted in a single family.

Participating in the making of the manger scenes

Around this topic, the six small manger scenes gradually arose, as well as the big one. Each one became responsible for one manger scene and all participated in the elaboration of the big one. Of course, there was help in the making of details of all manger scenes, according to the ability of one or another component of the team.

According to the assisted José Dimas, who helped the elaboration of the manger scenes, the project of manual activities “Knowing and acquiring knowledge” allows for individual contribution: “a drop from each one fills the glass. This contributes for integration in the shelter Tancredo Neves, each one gave something and from this, we have the final result”.

Leomar Figuera, another participant in the project, reported: “We feel proud for all this support we have received in Brazil; we built with the little material that was available, we created, offering ourselves pleasant moments, as we are going through a sensitive moment”.

Manger scene offered to Fraternidade

The six smaller manger scenes were offered to institutions connected to the shelter (Fraternidade, UNICEF, Welcome Operation, the Brazilian Army, the UNHCR, and the Coordination of the shelter Tancredo Neves).

The biggest manger scene was made at a key point at the entrance of the shelter and will be the main Christmas decoration.

After the exhibit, a snack was served, elaborated by the assisted themselves and then a karaoke was improvised, in which some revelations among the assisted offered Venezuelan and Brazilian songs, finishing the meeting with pleasant moments of relaxation.