Heaven, dotted with pockets of hell

By Moni Basu, CNN

Updated 1215 GMT (2015 HKT) May 12, 2015

Phurba Sherpa anxiously peers out the window of a helicopter ferrying him to a remote Sherpa village high in the Himalayas. He wanted to assess the damage wrought by the April 25 earthquake in Nepal.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
Phurba Sherpa anxiously peers out the window of a helicopter ferrying him to a remote Sherpa village high in the Himalayas. He wanted to assess the damage wrought by the April 25 earthquake in Nepal.
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Phurba's heart broke when he saw the devastation in Chaurikharka, the village where he grew up. But there's no time for sadness, he says, when so much work has to be done.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
Phurba's heart broke when he saw the devastation in Chaurikharka, the village where he grew up. But there's no time for sadness, he says, when so much work has to be done.
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The mother of Dawa Chiri Sherpa cares for his 18-month-old daughter after the climbing guide was killed by a quake-triggered avalanche at Everest Base Camp.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
The mother of Dawa Chiri Sherpa cares for his 18-month-old daughter after the climbing guide was killed by a quake-triggered avalanche at Everest Base Camp.
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Dawa Chiri Sherpa's mother mourns her son, the climbing guide who died at the base camp. The family was upset that it took two days before his body was returned to them.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
Dawa Chiri Sherpa's mother mourns her son, the climbing guide who died at the base camp. The family was upset that it took two days before his body was returned to them.
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A girl helps clean out rubble from her family home in the village of Kyongma. In some villages, almost every house was damaged in the massive quake.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
A girl helps clean out rubble from her family home in the village of Kyongma. In some villages, almost every house was damaged in the massive quake.
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High in the hills, the mode of transportation is often animals such as yaks, donkeys and buffaloes.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
High in the hills, the mode of transportation is often animals such as yaks, donkeys and buffaloes.
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A Sherpa woman prepares food in the restaurant of a lodge in Khumjung where only a few tourists remained. Most trekkers fled after the quake.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
A Sherpa woman prepares food in the restaurant of a lodge in Khumjung where only a few tourists remained. Most trekkers fled after the quake.
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Nawang Sherpa held onto his baby girl during the earthquake. They survived but are now too frightened to sleep within cracked walls. The family of four lives in a tent set up nearby.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
Nawang Sherpa held onto his baby girl during the earthquake. They survived but are now too frightened to sleep within cracked walls. The family of four lives in a tent set up nearby.
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The fields are lush with new wheat, but little remains of this farmer's house in the village of Rimijung.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
The fields are lush with new wheat, but little remains of this farmer's house in the village of Rimijung.
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Young monks take wood up to a 500-year-old monastery that was heavily damaged in the earthquake. They are afraid that what remains might still come tumbling down.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
Young monks take wood up to a 500-year-old monastery that was heavily damaged in the earthquake. They are afraid that what remains might still come tumbling down.
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A Sherpa man cuts stone to try rebuilding his damaged house. Many of the houses in this part of Solokhumbu District were built with stone, cement and wood and sustained major damage.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
A Sherpa man cuts stone to try rebuilding his damaged house. Many of the houses in this part of Solokhumbu District were built with stone, cement and wood and sustained major damage.
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The students at the Gumila teaching monastery ran out for cover when the earth began shaking. They survived, but their classroom didn't.
Photos: The forgotten Sherpas
The students at the Gumila teaching monastery ran out for cover when the earth began shaking. They survived, but their classroom didn't.