Ukrainian, Polish, and Taiwanese participants gather for a year-end “vegetarian dumpling club,” where children learn how to make dumplings from elders, passing on everyday wisdom and family traditions. | Photo: Oksana Makovetska

Dumplings, memories, and a shared table   

For Ukrainians displaced by war and unable to return home, the holiday season can feel especially lonely. To ease that feeling, Tzu Chi volunteers in Warsaw held a “Vegetarian Dumpling Club” gathering at the Camillian Social Welfare Mission shelter in Łomianki. Fifty-two Ukrainian and Polish residents joined, finding a taste of home and a sense of belonging in a foreign land.    

Residents and volunteers prepared the event together. The shelter filled with the smell of cooking and the sound of conversation. Children in traditional Ukrainian dress introduced the history of dumplings, and the senior music group Vyshyvanka played familiar songs. Soon, people were clapping and singing along, the distance between them drawn closer.   

Three kinds of dumplings, one circle of friends

At lunchtime, everyone sat together to make three types of dumplings, each carrying its own meaning. Ukrainian dumplings held memories of home. Polish dumplings reflected local culture and invited newcomers into the community. Chinese-style vegetarian dumplings, prepared by a Taiwanese volunteer, expressed friendship and blessings from afar.    

Children learned from elders how to fill and fold the dough. In each pinch and fold, they were not only passing on tradition, but also weaving together three cultures. When steaming plates of dumplings arrived, the warm aroma filled the room and relaxed many tense shoulders.   

Dumplings from different countries bridged generations and cultures as a young child learns how to fill and fold the dumplings. | Photo: Oksana Makovetska 

Strangers no more, united by love 

The gathering offered more than food; it also soothed hearts. Ukrainian participant Svitlana said this year’s celebration felt warm, and she no longer felt alone in Poland. Polish resident Les shared that singing together felt like being in one big family.   

At the start, volunteers Anna and Sandy Lin shared Tzu Chi’s 2025 global relief work, conveying long-term care that crosses religions, ethnicities, and nationalities—a spirit reflected in every detail of the gathering.   

Ukrainian and Polish residents share food and songs with Taiwanese volunteers at the shelter in Łomianki, spending a gentle, hope-filled year-end together. | Photo: Alla Prodaniuk

After nearly four years of displacement, “returning home” has become a distant hope. Yet in this moment, Ukrainian families, Polish friends, and Taiwanese Tzu Chi volunteers gathered to unite in love, warmth, and support. It was more than a year-end event; it was a promise of care, letting hope and concern continue to flow gently through a cold foreign land. 

Written by Alla, Sandy Lin (林莉菁), Yi-Ting Wang (王藝婷)

Translated by Mindy Chen (陳敏理)