By Sean Chaffin, Editor/Senior Writer

Last Updated: January 14, 2010; 9:00 pm CT

Brazilians are mourning the loss of 14 soldiers killed in the tragic earthquake that has devastated that Caribbean island nation.

Brazil has had a large military contingency on the island as part of United Nations peacekeeping operations. The Wall Street Journal also reports that four Brazilian military personnel are still missing. The Journal reports another tragic loss for the country:

In addition to the loss of military personnel, the government Wednesday also confirmed the death of prominent Brazilian social worker and philanthropist Zilda Arns, founding director of the Pastoral da Crianca childrens’ support agency and member of the president’s Social and Economic Development Council. Arns, the aunt of Brazilian Senator Flavio Arns, was on a visit to Haiti to participate in a conference.

The Brazilian government has pledged $15 million in aid, and has begun transporting 28 tons of food, water, and medicine. Brazilian military personnel has been in charge of the Minustah mission operation in Haiti since 2004, according to the BBC. The operation had seen the 1,200 Brazilian peacekeepers attempting to control increased gang violence in Haiti. The BBC’s reporter Gary Duffy in Sao Paulo says:

“Given Brazil’s central role, the earthquake has caused a lot of concern and shock.” He says it has been a desperately worrying time for the families of the more than 1,200 Brazilian soldiers in the UN mission.

In other news reports, Agence France Press reports that Brazil is also offering another necessity for the island as the Haitian people eventually begin seeking to bury their dead. According to AFP Brazil has offered to help build a cemetery on the island. The news agency reported the following about the Brazilian offer:

Brazil is offering to build a cemetery in Haiti for the thousands killed in this week’s quake, and promising it will respect the Voodoo beliefs of part of the Caribbean country’s population, officials say.

The proposal stemmed from the “great concern over the presence of abandoned bodies in the streets, which could create epidemics,” the defense ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Brazil has also offered other relief services including helping set up of field hospitals, clear debris, and security.

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In another heartbreaking story, Brazilian troops helped a Haitian woman give birth in the hours immediately following the earthquake. AFP reports that the woman had been seeking treatment in a garage being used as a makeshift medical facility. The agency reports the following:

The baby was doing well, but the mother was on the verge of death, with hemorrhaging that would not stop, medical Captain Fabricio Almeida de Moura said.

To help victims of the earthquake, please visit Network for Good to donate to a charity offering aid.

Photo: Brazilian relief workers in Rio de Janeiro prepare for their mission in Haiti.