Since the start of the war, Zhanna Bukret and her a wonderful group of Ukrainian volunteers have been helping at the Donbas front. They evacuate the wounded, bring food and water, and provide mental health support by phone. In June, Zhanna said their 1998 Ford Transit van broke down completely: their vital work froze. Sunflower Scotland responded, and brought them a big 2011 Volkswagen Crafter.
But before we donated the van, we used it to deliver a full load of medical supplies to Sumy.
Zhanna’s small charity “The Nation of Winners” is always busy. Based in Shakhtarske, on the edge of Donbas, they are just 20 miles away from the front line. When you leave the town and turn right, the road takes you straight to the battle zone in Pokrovsk.
Zhanna’s little office in the town centre is always collecting supplies. It’s bustling with life, jokes and laughter, here you always get a cuppa and meet good friends. Don’t get me wrong: things around aren’t fun. But you got to smile in order to support yourself and those around you.
This time, we came not just for coffee. We brought a VW Crafter van for them, so that they could continue their important work helping people. But first we had to do something. The van was fully loaded with medical supplies from NHS Bradford. We brought them directly to the Sumy Hospital.
After meeting in Shakhtarske, our two teams – Scottish and Ukrainian – drove together to Sumy. The Scottish team (Stevie drove a Subaru) and Oleg (drove a Transporter van) drove medical supplies all the way from Scotland. The Ukrainian team (Vitaliy, Zhanna ana Neliya) drove the Crafter van.
We donated all the medical supplies in two hospitals in Sumy, on the day of a big attack when Russia destroyed Sumy State University. After than, Zhanna’s team went back to Shakhtarske. And the Scottish team returned to Kharkiv.
This article is an example of how Scottish and Ukrainian volunteers are helping each other and looking after each other. We are proud to know people on the ground in Ukraine, who are doing the incredibly hard work. Zhanna’s little charity is doing SO MUCH to help those who are struggling. And we are thrilled to help her, because we know this van which we donated will help many people.
We would like to thank Spiders 4 Ukraine for helping to fund the trip: we struggled with funds to deliver the van, and they gave us a hand. Thank you so much!
And our sincere thanks to NHS Bradford for donating all the medical supplies. It’s truly wonderful to receive help from NHS England. If you are from NHS Scotland and want to donate medical supplies, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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