It's been almost two months since an enormous earthquake rocked Mt. Everest and Nepal, destroying much of a country that was desperate already.
"I think about it daily, actually," Haley Ercanbrack said.
Ercanbrack is from Scottsdale and she was climbing between Camp One and Camp Two on Everest when the quake hit. Sherpas helped save her. Now, it's her turn to help them.
"When I left the people in the villages -- my Sherpa friends -- they looked at me and said, 'Please promise me, Haley, that you won't forget about us,'" she said.
Haley hasn't, especially because the Sherpas desperately need help. They live in the villages outside of Kathmandu and are missing out on a lot of the international aid going there.
"I saw all of this destruction," she said. "Their farms are ruined; their homes are flattened; their family members are dead. So, it affects you. It's a personal thing at a personal level."
In response, Haley is raising money to help the Sherpas. And now is a time when they need the help more than ever.
"It is actually getting much worse because the monsoons are coming in," she said. "There's flooding; landslides. They're literally living under tarps right now.
"I feel for them. I feel terrible for them. My heart goes out to them. I want to go back there soon and I want to do everything I can to help them rebuild."
Haley is having a fundraiser on Sunday, June 28 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mod on Central Avenue. Get all the details here and on Haley's Facebook page.
And be sure to see Haley's story and more on Dateline this Sunday night starting at 6 p.m. on 12 News.
