Hot meals served at the train station.

Warsaw Centralna Station is located in the heart of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. The three-story station is large, beautiful, and modern with a distinctive architecture. Surrounding the station are bustling avenues filled with cars, trams, and people.

Perhaps many people don't know that right in front of the train station there's a corner dedicated to charitable organizations, including members of the Vietnamese-Polish Heart Association (often abbreviated as the Heart Association). They distribute free, hot meals cooked by restaurants run by generous members of the Vietnamese community.

I was here one evening in March, the temperature was 1-2 degrees Celsius and there was a light breeze. Just ten days earlier, it had been snowing heavily and freezing cold with temperatures of -10 to -15 degrees Celsius. By around 6 PM, several hundred people had formed a long line, with the elderly and disabled sitting on the stone steps.

Three cars stopped in sequence, and crates of apples, bananas, tangerines, pastries, sandwiches, and dozens of pots of hot soup were unloaded and arranged on tables. A vehicle carrying Vietnamese volunteers with 50-100 hot meals arrived shortly afterward.

Members of the Vietnamese-Polish Heart Association distributed hot meals at Warsaw Centralna train station on the evening of March 10th.

An elderly woman, leaning on a cane, approached the Vietnamese volunteers, holding a lunchbox. "Thank you for your help," she said in Polish. Everyone present was moved to tears. It was only by being here that one could see how many poor people still existed in the magnificent capital city. These elderly people sat waiting for their free meals even on days of biting cold snow.

At Warzsawa Centralna train station, the Heart Foundation has been distributing meals for the past three years, regardless of the harsh weather. These hot meal boxes represent warm acts of love for the poor in this snowy region.

For the past three years, restaurants such as Linh Kuchnia, Azyatycka, Bar Thai Simple, U Kim, and Tygon have consistently partnered with the association's executive board.

In particular, during the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the association delivered hot meals and drinks to hospitals, security forces, and district administrative committees.

On January 13, 2022, Polish television broadcast a program on TVP1 about the support for doctors and nurses, dedicating five minutes to praising the hot meals provided by the Vietnamese community. Hundreds of billboards throughout Warsaw thanked the more than 60,000 meals and tens of thousands of bottles of water given to doctors and nurses.

Since its founding in 2020, in addition to providing free meals, the Heart Foundation has also helped several nursing homes, supported underprivileged individuals, sheltered small business owners affected by the Marywilska shopping center fire, and contributed to the recovery of their hometown after Typhoon Yagi …

The Vietnamese tradition of "helping those in need" is carried with them wherever they are, and they support even those of different origins.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/suat-an-nong-tren-san-ga-196250314213011714.htm