Chinese cultural event helps elderly cope with loneliness

KIEV, Ukraine — “I love this very much! My soul is singing,” says Lucia Pavlovna, who is joining in with a Ukrainian folk song during the Spring Festival celebration in a nursing home on the outskirts of Kiev.

The celebration, named “Warmth of Culture”, which was organized by the Confucius Institute of the Kiev National Linguistic University, means a lot to Pavlovna, who is suffering from loneliness.

Since her children moved abroad four years ago, Pavlovna, 87, has been living alone in a small room in the nursing home. She says she spends her time watching soap operas on TV or remembering the good old days, when she worked as an engineer at an industrial plant.

The Spring Festival party is a rare chance for Pavlovna to meet her friends and get acquainted with a new culture.

“I am so excited because today I will hear Chinese songs for the first time in my life,” she said.

During the party, the students of the Confucius Institute were singing Chinese and Ukrainian folk songs, performing dances and even doing a tea ceremony to provide entertainment for the residents of the facility.

The festivities have attracted a full house of spectators, who watched the concert with acute fascination.

The final song, The Country Is Our Common Family, caught the attention of the whole audience, with the eyes of many spectators brimming with tears of happiness.

Shi Yajun, Chinese president for the KNLU Confucius Institute, said the event follows a Chinese tradition of showing gratitude and respect to seniors during the Spring Festival celebrations.

“The Lunar New Year is a traditional Chinese holiday, when all family members gather together and show respect to the people of the older generation,” Shi said.

Vladislav Shalay, Deputy Director of the Kiev nursing home, said the event was a “breath of fresh air” and helped break the gray days for more than 200 residents of the home.

Meanwhile, Margarita Shimerko, a student at the KNLU Confucius Institute, said she is proud to participate in the concert and hoped it would enrich their lives.

“It is a great pride for me to take part in this concert, where I have the opportunity to share my kindness with people and help them learn Chinese culture,” Shimerko said.

The student said she would like Ukraine to adopt the tradition that those living apart from their elderly relatives return home during the New Year time. “We need to learn a lot from China. I think that people in Ukraine must follow the Chinese tradition and share their kindness with seniors,” Shimerko said.