to drown beneath dark clouds

My heart is broken. 

Over the past few days Brazil, my home country, has gone through what has been considered the worst natural disaster in History. Countless mudslides and floods in the South East region, where I am from, have devastated beautiful areas and destroyed the lives and homes of so many. Bridges were washed down, trapping people where new mudslides could occur at any time. And because they can only be reached by helicopters, they have run out of food, water, medicine and are in desperate need of assistance, especially to those who have been injured. Families have lost a large number of their members, one alone has lost a total of 17 people, and many are still looking for their loved ones, sometimes digging underneath the mud and what's left from their houses with their bare hands, hoping to simply find their bodies and give them a dignified funeral.

One can only fathom the pain of losing the ones who meant the world to them and the despair of having to start life again from scratch. My heart and mind are with them. Every one of them.

If you want and can help by making a donation to aid the ones who have been affected by the floods in Brazil, I have found two serious institutions online that will put your donations to good use:

Brazilian Red Cross

CARE

I can only imagine how it feels like to be in the midst of an even greater natural tragedy, such as the earthquakes in Chile, Tahiti and Pakistan, for example, or the tsunamis in South East Asia. I wonder how one can start over after going through so much pain and losing almost, if not, everything they loved. Where do they find the strength to move forward? Is it faith and the hope that one day life will be good again? Is it the support from wonderful human beings who donate their time, effort and so much more so that they will have a second chance at living with dignity? What is it that allows them to rebuild a life and feel happiness in their hearts again?