Creation of Ukraine-bound therapy bus was a team effort

The wheels of Fun Academy's idea of a mobile daycare centre were literally set in motion when Koiviston Auto decided to donate a bus for the project. The finished bus is the end result of a collaborative effort between a number of different companies, and the important project also involved the Ministry of the Interior of Finland and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Grano had the honour of contributing to the project with a vehicle wrap, as a result of which the outer surfaces of the bus are now adorned with colourful and cheerful visuals that are sure to attract children’s attention and, most importantly, bring joy to children and parents in Ukraine.

Fun Academy has been helping Ukrainian citizens since the start of the war

Fun Academy is an international start-up tasked with providing further education and training to teachers and inspiring them to develop their skills. At the same time, Fun Academy aims to bring the joy of learning to everyone.

Fun Learning Ambassador Sanna Lukander from Fun Academy explains:

“Our goal is to make learning entertaining. All activities present opportunities to learn something new. For example, playing games can teach you new things, while business visits present opportunities to learn more. Most importantly, you can learn more when you're enthusiastic about something.”

When the war in Ukraine started, Fun Academy immediately set out to help Ukrainians in the first few weeks. Due to the war, no new daycare centres or schools can be built in affected areas. Construction efforts are further complicated by the fact that building facilities like daycare centres would also require civil defence shelters to be built close by. Fun Academy were mulling over how to help citizens and eventually came up with the idea of a mobile daycare centre, which ultimately turned into a mobile therapy bus.

“In traumatic conditions, you need a space where children can calm down and relax. There would also be a psychologist on the bus, as well as supplies for play and learning. With the help of the bus, we can also bring instructions to parents in Ukraine. Of course, the bus would operate in the vicinity of a civil defence shelter,” Sanna explains.

Koiviston Auto bus re-purposed and given a new lease of life

A former Onnibus bus was given a new lease of life as a result of Koiviston Auto re-purposing it for Fun Academy in-house. According to Technical Director Michael Andersson from Koiviston Auto, the re-purposing involved removing the seats and leveling the floor so that Fun Academy could design a new interior for the bus.

Michael says that Koiviston Auto already had prior experience of sending buses to Ukraine.

“In late 2022 and early 2023, we sent 15 buses to Ukraine for transport use after hearing at an event that Ukraine was in desperate need of school buses. We started exploring the possibility of sending buses with the Ministry of the Interior, and ultimately ended up taking the buses to Ukraine ourselves. It was a huge event for all of Koiviston Auto,” Michael reminisces.

Next, the therapy bus designed with Fun Academy needed a new paint job and wrap. The new paint job was handled by Koiviston Auto’s paint supplier, while the wrapping was carried out by Grano, with whom Koiviston Auto was already familiar as a partner.

Watch the video below to see how the bus was wrapped by Grano!

Grano had the pleasure of contributing to the project with a vehicle wrap

“Grano was happy to contribute to the project,” says Sales Director Teppo Haapaniemi from Grano, and adds:

“It was an honour for us to be involved in such an important project.”

Grano’s vehicle wrappers came to Koivoston Auto’s depot to apply the wrap based on Fun Academy’s spectacular design to the bus. Koiviston Auto took care of washing the bus and preparing it for Grano. According to Key Account Manager Hanne Kuusisto from Grano, Fun Academy provided the design for the wrap, after which Grano’s specialists made sure that it fit Koiviston Auto’s bus. After this, the wrap was quickly applied by the wrappers, and now the sides of the bus are adorned with Fun Academy’s eye-catching visuals.

“The wrap is delightfully fresh and colourful!” Hanne concludes.

Before the finished bus goes to Ukraine, it will be thoroughly inspected in Finland. The bus will be driven for two weeks in Finland, after which it will move to Ukraine to fulfil its important task.

Read more about the project here!