B.C. woman returns home safely

A Vancouver Island woman who experienced the deadly earthquake last week in Kathmandu has returned home safely, but she says Nepal’s struggle to recover is just beginning.

Taylor Winfrey touched down in Vancouver Thursday afternoon following a 72-hour trip from Kathmandu by way of Dubai and London. On Sunday morning, she was trying to relax at her family home in Duncan while dealing with something akin to survivor’s guilt.

“I was so relieved but I was still a lot in shock,” she said of her exit from Nepal. “It’s like, I’m getting out of there but everyone else is still down there.”

Winfrey had been volunteering at a school for street children since December, and watched the walls of the house she was living in crumble as the quake struck. She’s been told that the students she taught are safe, but she can’t yet be sure.

Monsoon season is set to begin in the next couple of months, which could complicate matters even more, she said.

Several Canadian organizations have been stepping up their aid to Nepal in the week since the earthquake hit.

Last week, firefighters from Burnaby coordinated the evacuation of a 24-year-old Calgary woman and three other hikers from Langtang National Park, where they had been stranded.

Another group of Canadians took off from Vancouver and Toronto on Saturday to help with Nepal’s urgent health care needs.

Fifteen members of the Canadian Medical Assistance Team (CMAT), including six British Columbians, were scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu late Sunday evening.