Six days after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, Katie Fischer-Price left family and friends to travel to the crumbling country where her father had died nearly 20 years prior.

“I’d never done anything like this before, so it wasn’t an easy decision. But it was something I felt like I needed to do,” she said. “It was probably the scariest thing I’ve ever been through, though.”

Fischer-Price, the daughter of late mountain climber Scott Fischer, had originally planned to visit Nepal and her father’s memorial on Mount Everest with her brother, Andy, and a documentary crew. Instead, Fischer-Price connected with two nonprofits she knew through her father’s company, and flew nearly 7,000 miles to put her skills as a psychiatric nurse to use.

During her first few weeks in Nepal, she conducted medical assessments, dropped off food supplies and assisted at a refugee camp. In one village in particular, 400 people had died and 90 percent of the homes had been destroyed.

“With the monsoon approaching, there’s a fear that more damages will be caused by the flood and landslides,” said Dawa Geljen Sherpa, the founder of Classrooms in the Clouds, one of the non-profits Fischer-Price worked with in Nepal. “People are still living in the tents and haven’t been able to forget the devastating impact of the tremor with aftershocks still recurring.

Despite the ensuing aftershocks, the Newport High Class of 2009 graduate will return in September to provide long-term medical instruction and community support. Together with Classrooms in the Clouds and Embolden Alliances founder and executive director Neena Jain,  Fischer-Price developed a disaster awareness plan that they will teach to remote community leaders when she returns to Nepal in September.

The idea arose from the realization that the Nepalese communities Jain, Sherpa and Fischer-Price were helping each day didn’t need to be instructed on how to rebuild and recover from the earthquake. What they needed, Fischer-Price said, is resources.

“I think the biggest take-home message I felt after being there was that I don’t think Nepal needs a bunch of foreign agencies coming in. It seems that people there know what to do, it’s just the lack of resources,” she said.

During the earthquake and aftershocks, many remote communities in the mountainous country had difficulty receiving emergency medical services.

Basic healthcare can be four hours away, uphill, Jain said.

To combat that, the disaster preparedness plan uses a “train the trainer” instruction system to provide basic medical care, sanitation and safety information to community leaders, who then instruct others in the future. The group will distribute first aid kits and materials in Nepal, as well.

“This is a durable, lasting solution that people can own, adapt and use for themselves,” Jain said. “The knowledge itself will propagate through communities.”

The original plan to embark on a 16-day trek in May to teach the disaster plan was halted after a 7.3 magnitude aftershock hit Nepal on May 12. But Fischer-Price said she is excited to return in the fall.

“I already felt a connection with Nepal through my dad, and I know I feel like I have my own relationship with the country in a whole different way, and I’m thankful for that,” said Fischer-Price. “Not only do I feel like I’m getting to know this country, but I feel like I’m getting to know my dad in his world a little bit more.”

Katie and Andy Fischer-Price are continuing to fundraise. More information can be found at www.crowdrise.com/classroomintheclouds/fundraiser/katiefischerprice.