For many years, Thupten Kunga, his wife Phurbu Dolma and their seven children dreamed of moving out of the small, two-bedroom house they rented. Little did this hard working Tibetan family know that after living through a nightmare, their American Dream would finally come true.

The dream was getting closer - until Phurbu was severely injured in an automobile accident. Unable to walk, the family lost the income from the two jobs Phurbu had before; and when she began to use a wheelchair they quickly found that their rental home's small bathroom and narrow hallway would not accommodate a wheelchair. But the Kunga family was not alone: through the Utah Tibet Support Group, the law firm of Parsons, Behle and Latimer was contacted to assist the family. First, the law firm worked to have Phurbu's medical expenses forgiven, and then the lawyers donated their fees to a fund to help the family buy a home.

As many families are fortunate to find, there often is a sturdy web of assistance available to them. The attorneys referred the family to the Community Development Corporation of Utah (CDC), a nonprofit organization that specializes in helping families normally shut out of the housing market. With $395,000 from a HUD Rural Housing and Economic Development Innovations project grant, last year the CDC created the Affordability Project - a comprehensive set of strategies to reduce costs in all phases of home construction. Through the HUD grant, a warehouse had been purchased and donated construction materials had been coming in for almost a year. With the help of the CDC, the Kunga's qualified for a home, and the Salt Lake City Corporation agreed to help the family with a low interest home mortgage.

A sketch of the Kunga's new home, designed by the University of Utah Architecture Graduate School.

The project took on a life of its own with the assistance of the University of Utah Graduate School of Architecture Design Built Studio, who designed the home. A unique feature is that a portion of the house will be built with straw bale, earthen plaster, corrugated metal and fiberglass roofing in order to achieve the best of both worlds: low cost, low maintenance, excellent insulation and recycled aesthetics. The first floor will be completely wheelchair accessible. The stairway is designed to facilitate a stair glide to the second floor. And the design reflects Tibetan religious architecture by incorporating a shrine space.

A house raising celebration recently was held at the site for one single home - to recognize all the community partners that came together to build an affordable home for the Kunga family.