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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