6 February 2026 – Sunflower Scotland donated a wheelchair-accessible van to Way to Health, a rehabilitation centre in Dnipro, eastern Ukraine. The van will help wheelchair users travel to the centre to see doctors and receive the rehabilitation they need. For wheelchair users in Ukraine, simply getting around can be extremely difficult. If someone is in pain and needs medical treatment, reaching a clinic is almost impossible.
Way to Health is one of the most experienced licensed rehabilitation centres in eastern Ukraine. At the time of writing, it has helped more than 3,000 patients.
The centre holds a full medical licence, and its staff have medical training, diplomas and specialist qualifications.
The problem is funding. The Ukrainian state covers only a small fraction of the actual cost of rehabilitation, and it’s not been adjusted for inflation. Way to Health therefore has to find donors to help cover the difference: pay their staff, medical supplies and rent. They simply had no spare money available to buy a wheelchair-accessible van.
Dr Mykyta Zhalnin, the chief medical officer, asked Sunflower Scotland if we could help.
We responded.
Our friend Steven Clark found an excellent low-mileage wheelchair van in Cowdenbeath. We bought it, serviced it, carried out several minor repairs and fitted winter tyres for Ukrainian roads.
Our volunteer Stuart Mansell drove the van as part of our February convoy. We travelled through Lviv, Ternopil and Vinnytsia before reaching Dnipro.
There, we donated the van to Way to Health. The centre had also asked us for several Zimmer frames, which we delivered at the same time.
Since receiving the van, Way to Health has been using it to collect wheelchair users from their homes and bring them to the medical centre for treatment and rehabilitation.
They applied colourful informaiton stickers, so that anyone who needs rehabilitation can learn about the help available in their city, phone the rehabilitation centre and access help.
Sincere thanks to donors
It is just one van, but it has already helped many people get the medical care they need.
Without suitable transport, accessing rehabilitation would be much more difficult for many of these patients. Few families can afford to hire a wheelchair-accessible minibus, particularly when treatment requires repeated visits to the centre.
For some patients, without this van, rehabilitation might simply not be accessible.
Our donors and sponsors did not change the whole world — but their kindness and generosity changed the lives of people who needed help.
The impact of that support is very real.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who made this project possible.
We especially thank George Heriot’s School and Nursery in Edinburgh, whose support provided the majority of the funding for the vehicle.
We also thank everyone across Scotland and beyond who supported us, whether through a large donation or a small one.
You can see your money working — helping real people get the medical care and rehabilitation they need.
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