An international dining event which took place in Waterloo last year is soon returning, offering residents the opportunity to immerse themselves in a different culture and help refugees in the St. Louis area.

To put the event together, Waterloo Listens is once again partnering with Welcome Neighbor STL, a nonprofit with the goal of assisting immigrants – specifically refugees – as they acclimate to life in the U.S.

Dawn Schulte is a member of Waterloo Listens who has worked with Welcome Neighbor STL for some time. She spoke about various projects and programs the organization has put together in support of local refugees.

One of the larger programs involves connecting immigrants with partner families, providing them with people in the area that can assist with accessing public services, help make budgets and long-term plans and generally act as friends for refugees who otherwise have no connection to their new home.

Schulte also mentioned how the organization will send volunteers to the airport specifically to welcome refugees from the moment they step off the plane.

English language classes, driving lessons and other services are also offered by Welcome Neighbor STL.

“There is just such a depth to what Welcome Neighbor STL does,” Schulte said.

The organization also assists immigrants through food, whether it’s cooking classes or by helping them get involved in catering events and supper clubs like last year’s dinner in Waterloo.

Welcome Neighbor STL Supper Club Coordinator Zohra Zaimi offered some insight into the organization’s food-related assistance, saying they first help the refugees obtain certificates for food preparation after attending a few cooking classes. 

Then comes the catering.

“We try to look for small catering events – for example 15 people – so they can have training, and after that we try to involve them in bigger events like the supper club,” Zaimi said.

All of this can assist refugees in making a living for themselves through food, either by serving as a starting point for their own catering services or by helping them find work in various St. Louis restaurants and kitchens.

Zaimi also noted the larger supper club events are fundraisers for the cooks, with 90 percent of ticket sales going to support the refugees and 10 percent going to Welcome Neighbor STL in order to cover the cost of supplies.

She also spoke about the cultural exchange aspect of supper club events, as the cooks are able to not only share their food with guests but their stories and experiences as well.

“In each event, we try to give the opportunity to our cooks to share their stories with the guests, so they can talk about food, they can answer the guests’ questions, they can talk about their own stories,” Zaimi said.

This melding of cultures, according to Waterloo Listens member Amanda Chase, was one of the reasons the group was interested in partnering with Welcome Neighbor STL to begin with.

Chase spoke about how many in the community had already long been active in supporting refugees. She specifically mentioned the work of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Waterloo, which is once again hosting the upcoming supper club.

“St. Paul UCC had been doing these fundraisers and supply drives, especially last year for the Ukraine effort, but they had never met, in person, any refugees,” Chase said. “So it’s an opportunity to pair people’s already generous hearts with a real person, a face, a name, a story. It’s very meaningful.”

Both Chase and Schulte spoke about how effective the cultural exchange aspect of the dinner was last year.

The chef, a refugee from Afghanistan, served a variety of Afghan food while sharing stories about her life and background, including how she had previously worked as a teacher and principal.

Chase described how special the event was for her personally and how she heard that sentiment expressed by many other guests.

Schulte spoke similarly, also noting how the event served to help give attendees a better idea of all the assistance Welcome Neighbor STL offers refugees.

“We were able to really provide an opportunity for the cultures to come together in a really respectful way, as well as the education piece of what Welcome Neighbor St. Louis does,” Schulte said. “It was just beyond what we could have hoped.”

Schulte and Chase said turnout for last year’s supper club was substantial, and though many individuals might find themselves on vacation at this point in the summer, this year’s event aligns somewhat closely with World Refugee Day.

This year’s menu is also set to look rather different, as Waterloo Listens has selected an international menu featuring, among other items, fatayer meat pies from Iraq, chicken or vegetarian biryani from India and basbousa, an Egyptian dessert which includes coconut.

The event takes place at St. Paul UCC on Saturday, June 24, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $35 per guest and are currently available until June 21.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit the Waterloo Listens page on Facebook, or tinyurl.com/2n89743s.