A nonprofit organization that works with the elderly, people with disabilities and the disadvantaged is building six homes and a recreation hall designed to provide a residence, temporary or even permanent, for clients who need it.

ORI Anuenue Hale Inc. eventually will build 11 homes on 10 acres, said Yvonne de Luna, one of the organization's program directors. The development is next to Helemano Plantation in Wahiawa.

Each of the homes will have wheelchair-height windows and comprise five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen, with a laundry room and a garden plot outside.

The organization provides vocational training, job opportunities and support services to its clients. The headquarters is on Helemano Plantation.

Trinidad Soberano, 68, works for ORI and lives in an existing home, caring for clients.

"I peep around (the homes) when the workers are not there," said Soberano. "Ooh, it's nice, it's nice."

Three homes are nearing completion.

Additionally, three homes and a recreation hall are being built free of charge by members of the Air Force Reserve. The organization is hoping these will be finished this year.

An additional five homes will be built in the next phase of the residential project expected to be completed next year.

The 11 homes and recreation hall are part of a larger project, called the Aloha Gardens. The development, on a total of 40 acres, will encompass the homes and recreation hall as well as an elder daycare/wellness center, a campground with accessibility for the disabled, a vocational training center, nursery/gardens, agricultural/aquaculture operations, a country market and mini-golf.

The full-scale project will cost $18 million and is being paid for by the state, city, fundraising efforts, loans and grants, said Ron Renshaw, another program director with ORI. The organization needs the government's support to get started, but it hopes to eventually bring in enough revenue to become self-sufficient.

The organization serves 50 clients and hopes to extend its services to a hundred more clients when the project is completed.

The nonprofit organization was selected this year to be an Innovative Readiness Training project for the Air Force Reserve, de Luna said.

As part of that, the 908th, 931st and the 302nd Civil Engineer Squadrons from Alabama, Kansas and Colorado, totaling about 170 reservists, each spent two weeks in Hawai'i and helped build different phases of three homes and the recreation hall.

The reservists fulfilled their annual two-week training requirement with the construction work.

There was also a special team of 10 members of the Air National Guard from the 159th Civil Engineer Squadron who took a break from work done in New Orleans to come to Hawai'i in May to help with the project.

The project is a win-win situation, said Chief Master Sgt. Luis S. Ayala, project manager with the military.

It allows reservists to practice their trades and complete their annual training, said Ayala, from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. But most importantly, he said, "We leave a product for the community."

The majority of the reservists work as plumbers, electricians, surveyors, carpenters or engineers in their civilian jobs. A lot of individuals are skilled in the construction trades and are also cross-trained to the different needs of the Air Force.

"A lot of them have two or three different trades," said Ayala.

The Air Force has been helping with the project since April 1, and its goal is to finish 80 percent of the construction project by this week. The organization has arranged for a general contractor to finish the work by the end of the year.

"We're really hoping (the Air Force) will continue to provide us the support and come back next year," said de Luna.

Susanna Cheung, founder, president and CEO of ORI Anuenue Hale Inc., said the Aloha Gardens project has been a longtime dream.

Cheung, originally from Hong Kong, says she is committed to improving the quality of life for the people whom the organization serves. She encourages the clients to have fun and be productive at the same time.

"They deserve to be served," said Cheung. "If I could, I wouldn't charge anything."

Cheung said the organization provides programs and services that are rarely available to residents of rural Central O'ahu and the North Shore.

"Most program services are located downtown," said de Luna. "People here need the services, and we meet that need."

Reach Brittany Yap at byap@honoluluadvertiser.com.