When Turkey and Syria were hit by a deadly earthquake, the loss of life and trauma sent shockwaves across the globe.
The disaster crushed many homes and killed more than 47,000 people.
When I saw the internet flooded with pictures and videos of the destruction, I felt my stomach churn.
I spoke to people in Southampton fundraising to help those in the disaster - and made the decision to fly out myself.
Feeling slightly nervous and scared, I changed my annual leave plans and booked flights to Gaziantep, one of the provinces badly hit by the earthquake.
I had no fixer or translator and solely relied on Google Translate.
I knew this would be a very challenging task due to language barriers, but all I wanted was to give people back home (UK) a sense of what was going on.
After arriving in Gaziantep, I headed to a city called Nurdagi the next day.
And what I saw was unbelievable and soul-crushing. 
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake tore down tall buildings and destroyed people's livelihoods.
This event has been described by the Turkish president as the "disaster of the century."
As I walked around the village, I met with a couple and their three-year-old daughter, Fatima.
They showed me where they lived before the earthquake struck.
Whilst pointing at the flat, the mum said: "We lost everything."
She tried to climb through the rubble to see if she could retrieve anything from their now-destroyed home.
All she could get was a woollen hat, her husband's shirt, and a teddy bear for her tearful daughter.
A school teacher, Seyma, was standing in front of the pile of concrete that used to be her partner's home.
The 23-year-old shared her pain of losing her seven friends, including her partner, with me.
She said: "We met in school and were together for almost six years.
"I feel like a part of me died with him.
"Please pray for them all," she asked me kindly. 
Meanwhile, I spotted another man who was sitting by the road, staring at the rubble in dismay.
He shared how, on the night of the earthquake, he lost his wife, to whom he had been married for more than 35 years.
He looked confused as if he were dreaming, and everything that had happened up to that point was a dream - or in truth, a nightmare.
But deep down, he knew it was a reality and said: "I wish I could have hugged her one last time or at least said goodbye."
This natural disaster has left people angry, fearful, and with long-lasting tragic memories.
While the entire village was mourning the loss of their friends and families, emergency services started to clear out the rubble from the streets.
A 52-year-old rescue worker, Emil Savar, has been on the field since day one.
He said: "In my entire life, I have seen nothing like this.
"I don't wish ill on anyone.
"The kind of things that I have seen, I don't want anyone else to witness them.
"This earthquake just proves that no technology in the world is bigger than nature or god."
Turkey has one of the largest refugee populations in the world, including refugees from Syria.
While Turkish residents living in these hard-hit areas managed to flee and stay with their extended families, Syrian refugees have no choice but to stay.
A 23-year-old Syrian photographer, Abdulsalam Jarroud, said that the earthquake brought back memories of the 12-year Syrian war.
Abdulsalam said: "I was sleeping when I felt the ground shake.
"I started calling for my brother because I thought I was back in Syria.
"But then, after a few seconds, I realised that I was in Turkey, and what I was experiencing was an earthquake.
"This (earthquake) gave me traumatic flashbacks."
As of now, the Turkish government has confirmed that 47,244 people were killed as a result of the earthquake, and the death toll is likely to rise further.
Since the initial earthquake on February 6, Turkey and Syria have experienced more than 5,000 aftershocks.
On Monday, February 20, it was hit by another 6.3 magnitude earthquake.
I felt this too and had to evacuate my hotel as a precaution.
Following other residents, I made my way to a nearby park, where I took refuge with a Syrian family.
They welcomed me with open arms and offered me food and water.
This selfless act was just a timely reminder of why it’s important to collaborate in times of crisis.
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