Utah rug man helps Nepalese children by building health clinic


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SALT LAKE CITY — For more than a decade, a Salt Lake City businessman has raised enough money to build a clinic in the country of Nepal, and it's now open.

Jim Webber owns Foothill Oriental Rugs but became involved in humanitarian work when he traveled to Nepal to find products to sell. His rugs are made by 400 Tibetan refugees, his partners in Nepal. He sells their creations to clients throughout the world.

During his travels Webber saw a need and knew he had to do something that would change Nepalese children's lives.


If a child is deformed in any way, other kids think they're possessed by evil spirits even, so, in general they're not treated with compassion. In general, they're ostracized and made fun of.

–Jim Webber


Thousands of children in Nepal live in poverty, and their parents leave them every day to work in the fields. This leaves them vulnerable to injury, and countless children suffer burns each year.

"They cook in huts over open fires, and that's just a bad combination," Webber said. "So there are huge amounts of burns, mostly to kids, as a result of their lifestyle."

There are also accidents; one young man suffered an electrical shock that tore through his skull.

Eleven years ago Webber began building a clinic, with initial help from other U.S. rug importers. The Nepal Cleft and Burn Center is a four-story, 16,000-square-foot hospital. The total cost was $600,000.

"We've sent five 40-foot containers from Salt Lake City to Kathmandu, Nepal, filled with medical equipment," Webber said.

2013 Fundraiser for the Nepal Cleft & Burn Center

When: Friday, May 3, 2013 from 6-9:30 p.m.

Where: Foothill Oriental Rugs, 1460 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108

Complimentary valet parking, food, music and live auction

Live auction will include items like a week long stay in Paris, full-season ski passes to Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons, and an oriental rug from Foothill Oriental Rugs

The equipment, valued at more than $2,000,000, cost the organization 10 cents on the dollar. For a relatively small amount of money, this equipment changes lives, because these children cannot go to school, get jobs or marry with burns or cleft lips and palates.

"If a child is deformed in any way, other kids think they're possessed by evil spirits even, so in general they're not treated with compassion," Webber said. "In general, they're ostracized and made fun of."

For Webber, the connection between Salt Lake to Kathmandu is heart-to-heart. He believes this clinic can change countless lives for generations, and the number of families who come to the clinic is increasing.

Webber is hosting a fundraiser with one of the doctors from Nepal this Friday from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Foothill Oriental Rugs, located at 1460 Foothill Drive.

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