Winter is here.

Cold, heavy, and unforgiving. The kind of winter that settles deep into the ground and into the bones.

It brings long nights, freezing winds, damp air, and the quiet fear of what the next months will look like for those who have nothing.

And as winter tightens its grip here in Poland, my thoughts turn once again to Ukraine.

For many years, we have worked with the shelter in Cherkasy - bringing food, blankets, and medicine whenever we could.

But since the war began, very little has truly changed there.

Perhaps only one thing: the world has stopped talking about Ukraine.

The silence has grown.

But the suffering has not.

Many of the people who once worked with us - caretakers, stable hands, volunteers; returned to the front.

They went back to defend their homes.

And with many of them, we lost all contact.

We don’t know where they are.

We don’t know if they’re alive.

Recently, we heard from Valery.

Valery worked with us for almost ten years.

He helped build our very first rescue centers.

He wrote to say he was sitting in a trench.

Sometimes he manages to call his family.

He said he misses us terribly.

He also wrote that the war is ending and not ending at the same time - and that he no longer knows if life will ever return to normal.

He sent me a photo of himself holding a rifle.

And then, after a long pause, he sent another photo — this time holding a newborn foal.

He wrote:

“Ewa, look how everything changes. Once, at Centaurus, I held a newborn foal in my arms because the vet had just arrived and the mother was weak. Today I hold a machine gun and defend my country.”

Life is simple.

And unbearably complicated.

And to this Ukraine - to the place where Valery is now - we are going again.

We want to bring food to the Cherkasy shelter.

We will buy it on the Ukrainian side, because transporting supplies across the border is still extremely difficult.

Buying locally will also allow us to purchase more.

So this fundraiser is primarily for food.

But with winter already here, we are also collecting blankets, sheets, bedding, and anything that can keep the dogs warm.

If you can send food to our address - please do.

If you can donate even a small amount so we can buy supplies on-site - please, do that too.

The dogs in Cherkasy are waiting.

Hundreds of them.

And the people caring for them - brave, exhausted, extraordinary people - are doing everything they can with almost nothing.

Please, tell someone about Cherkasy.

Tell someone about the animals who stayed behind when the world stopped paying attention.

Tell someone about the people who protect them, even as their own lives fall apart.

Because by the time this fundraiser reaches its goal, winter will already be biting.

Cold, harsh, unforgiving.

Please - don’t leave those dogs alone.

The war may no longer be in the headlines.

But the animals are still there.

And no one speaks for them anymore.

Cherkasy became part of our hearts because of the people who opened theirs to hundreds of dogs and cats.

We think of them every day. How they live, how they cope, how they keep going.

Help us fill the van with food, blankets, and everything else they need.

Come with us to Cherkasy.

Be there for them when the world has already turned away.

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Conducted as part of the “Love Wisely” campaign

Centaurus Foundation has been working on behalf of animals since 2006.

We are a non‐profit organization.

Centaurus is nearly 3,000 rescued horses — including over 200 donkeys — thousands of dogs and cats, and many farm animals.

They are all alive because of people like you.

Without this support, rescue would not be possible.