Love of rugs led small Utah business owner to help Nepal


7 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Locals could go to big box stores to buy rugs and carpets, but chances are, they won't find anything as good as Jim Webber's rugs.

"I've traveled to India and Pakistan and the Afghan border to buy rugs," Webber said. "They have that tradition of hand-knotting rugs, because it's an art form that's passed down from generation to generation."

Webber owns Foothill Oriental Rugs in Salt Lake City. It's been a passion of his for 30 years.

He loves travelling to different countries looking for quality rugs, but it wasn't until a visit to Nepal in the 1980's where he really found his purpose.

"Over the years, Nepal has become my spiritual home, and I really wanted to give something back to that country, because if ever there was a country that needed a good medical facility, it's Nepal," Webber said.

Three years ago, his vision became a reality.

The Nepal Cleft and Burn Center in Kathmandu opened and already had some of the best doctors in the country.

One of them is Dr. Shankar Rai, the hospital's director, who has won enough awards and honors to fill a trophy case in his office.

"Without Jim, we would not have this facility, first of all, okay? Without Jim, we would not have started this project," said Rai, who still has a hard time believing how fast the hospital grew. "Initially, I was thinking of a small clinic, but because of the need of the country, because of the need of the people, the facility is becoming bigger and bigger."

When the earthquake hit Nepal a few months ago, the hospital could barely keep up.

Even the Nepali government started sending victims to Rai.

"Before the earthquake, it used to be more or less a quiet place. But after the earthquake, we started seeing so many patients all over the country," Rai said.

Out of all the injuries patients suffer with, Rai said burn injuries is the most common.

In fact, he said burns are a major issue in all of Nepal.

"It's mainly because of we use open fire for cooking, for keeping ourselves warm, and also for lighting purpose," Rai said.

In 2014, doctors at the hospital treated 90 burn patients.

(Photo: Alex Cabrero, KSL-TV)
(Photo: Alex Cabrero, KSL-TV)

They reached that number in the first 6 months this year and winter is just starting.

"We also have fireplaces at the ground level. That's another problem here," Rai said.

The hospital has become one of the best burn clinics in Nepal.

Doctors treat patients even if the patient can't pay, which is often the case.

"We do not want to send any patients who need our care to other hospitals, because there is no place. So, our policy is not to say no to any patient," Rai said.

It may not be the best business plan, but Rai feels some things are more important than money.

"To provide free services or services at a very low cost for our poor patients. That's a very, very satisfying job," Rai said.

Recently, the first skin bank in the entire country opened at the hospital.

Doctors also perform cleft surgeries.

But it all started because a Utah man fell in love with a country that gave him something he says he can never pay back.

"I'll tell you, the country just touched me. It has an amazing spiritual energy," Webber said.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahUplifting
Alex Cabrero

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast