Sherpa guide uses savings to help colleagues during pandemic

Ang Phurba Sherpa has been trying to help those struggling the most and hoping to inspire others to do the same.

The scenic Himalayan mountain trails that normally draw throngs of foreign trekkers to Nepal have been empty for more than a year, with most of the country’s tourism industry still shut down by the pandemic. That means tens of thousands of Sherpa guides have been left without the work they depend on to feed their families. Ang Phurba Sherpa has been trying to help those struggling the most and hoping to inspire others to do the same. Sherpa has been loading his truck with sacks of rice, lentils, cooking oil and other staples he has bought with his own money and delivering the goods to dozens of families in Kathmandu.