Friends:

“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” So says retired Retired Navy Admiral William McRaven, whose accomplishments are too many to fit in this newsletter. He even wrote a book called “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe the World.”  In a nutshell, the little things we do are foundational for the bigger things we want to accomplish. This applies to individuals as well as to organizations such as Archway.

At Archway, we enter the new year with significant ambitions. In fact, our theme for the year is “Bigger, Stronger, Better.” We are working to expand our reach and the communities we serve. To do this we need to be stronger organizationally. And as we grow and work to get stronger and more resilient, we also are focused on being better at what we do. It’s a lot, I know. But the demand for affordable housing and services is growing more acute every day, as real estate costs continue to escalate and the barriers to new development seem to multiply each year.

Meet Jeff Tamburello!

Jeff and I sit down in the community room at Arapahoe Green. There are two white lounge chairs next to each other that we choose. Jeff’s chair comes with a little panda stuffed animal atop one of the arms which he places his hand on for the remainder of our time. 

Colorado Native

“So, where are you from originally?” I asked.

“Here,” he said, “Over in Wheatridge.”

“Okay, one of the few it seems!” I said.

He tells me the schools he went to growing up and how in high school he began going to trade school for plumbing.

“My dad was a pipefitter, so my brother and I followed in his footsteps with it.”

“Did you guys find work together as well once you completed schooling?”

“Oh yeah, we worked on projects all over Denver. We did lots of new builds, homes, and multifamily properties.”

“Those must be big projects, new builds. You’re having to decide where everything goes and assemble it all, right?”

“Yeah, they were big projects but it was always consistent. It was the same process for each, so after a while, I wanted to do something more.”

Meet Prem Tamang!

Prem, and his son Mima, meet Maggie and me in the office at Villa Verde. David, an adult, wanted to come to help translate for his father but, after a while, it turned into a highlight of Mima as well. Both men have great attitudes and life stories. It was fun to have a conversation with both of them.

Bhutanese Refugees

Prem’s family is originally from Bhutan. During the 1990s the country initiated what they called an “ethnic cleanse,” trying to remove any ethnic Nepalis from the country. Prem’s family was a victim of this injustice and forced to live in Nepal as Bhutanese refugees for over 18 years.

“I was the first one to move to the United States with my wife, to help take care of her family,” Mima said, “The first place we lived was in Atlanta, Georgia in 2009.” Before long, Mima and his wife had moved out to Villa Verde to be closer to his wife’s family. His mother-in-law had ongoing health issues from a stroke and he wanted to contribute financially and with transportation to and from hospital visits.

“At first I didn’t want to bring my family out here because it was much more crowded in this part of Denver than where we lived in Atlanta. But it was taking a lot out of me to constantly travel back to Atlanta to make sure bills were paid and my parents were okay. So we moved my parents out here to Villa Verde as well.

“But there have been many good things for us living here because of Archway that we didn’t experience in Atlanta. We like it here very much.”

It was clear right away that Mima was a family man to his core. His primary goal is to care for his family, whether it is his parents, his own wife and kids, or his in-laws. Everything that he does, from his job to activities in his free time, is meant to better the lives of his family.