Canadian mountain climber Heather Geluk back in Nepal to help with the rebuild

Heather Geluk remembers well when a pair of powerful earthquakes rattled Nepal within the span of a few weeks last year.

Thousands of people died in the quakes and millions of lives were affected by the combined disasters.

When the first one hit, Geluk was on a mountain. She stayed in Nepal for weeks to help the people who lived there, which is why she was there when the second quake struck.

• Ridgetown native Heather Geluk says Nepal working on rebuilding after earthquakes

Eleven months have passed since the first devastating quake and Geluk has since returned to Nepal to help with relief work. She has seen some early victories for the survivors, who are in the midst of rebuilding their homes and their lives. 

"Buildings have started to pop up again, there's smiles on people's faces, there's a lot of hope," Geluk told CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive by telephone from Kathmandu on Tuesday.

"But at the same time, I mean the impact of the earthquake, you can't ignore it. There's still rubble and rocks and wood and stuff everywhere and people are still living in homes which are completely unfit to be lived in and are unsafe."

Geluk, who grew up in southwestern Ontario, has been coming to Nepal for years. In the past, she was travelling there solely to seek adventure, through climbing mountains.

"After last year's earthquake, that mountain-transactional relationship that I had with the country, it's become so much deeper," she said.

Geluk said she feels a responsibility to help the people in Nepal who have welcomed her into their lives for so many years.

"The Nepali people have helped me, like, every single time I've ever come here, so now it's my chance to give back," she said.

"Instead of them offering me tea, this time, it's me saying to them: 'Here, have a cup of tea. Let me help you carry your load.'"