When Francis Liu was 4 years old, he wore metal braces from his legs to his chest.

He needed the braces for support while he walked, but the weight of them also added to his struggles with muscular dystrophy.

Liu coped with the disease through physical therapy and training at the then-Sultan Foundation Nursery School. Some 50 years later, the school that helped Liu with his disabilities is Easter Seals Hawai'i, the state's largest provider of services to people with disabilities.

Yesterday, Easter Seals Hawai'i celebrated the groundbreaking of its new building in Makakilo, and Liu, now a retired doctor from Kaiser Permanente and a board member of the organization, held an o'o, a traditional Hawaiian digging stick, and said the new site gives people with disabilities "opportunities in life and in the future that they wouldn't have otherwise."

Napuakea — the first permanent Easter Seals Hawai'i site in West O'ahu — will help an additional 400 to 500 people on the west side of the island. Currently, the organization helps 3,000 people in Hawai'i and an estimated 2,000 people on O'ahu.

"It's a meaningful step forward for those with disabilities," said John Howell, president and CEO of Easter Seals Hawai'i. "There are more programs and more services that allow them to lead more independent lives."

Easter Seals is a national organization that helps people with mental and physical disabilities meet their needs through programs such as early intervention, physical therapy, occupational therapy and family support.

At least 350 people are employed by the organization in Hawai'i.

The $6 million project will be a multipurpose facility that will help all ages, from infants to adults. Officials expect the 20,000-square-foot two-story building to open in the fall of 2008.

Howell said Napuakea will fill a growing need for services on the west side of O'ahu, where two sites in 'Ewa and three in Waipahu, built within the past seven years, have already filled up.

"There's no question West O'ahu is the fastest-growing area in the state," Howell said.

Among the more than 50 people attending the ceremony below St. Jude's Church on Maka-kilo Drive were Liu, his wife, Debra, and son, Peter, Gov. Linda Lingle, Mayor Mufi Hannemann, City Councilman Nestor Garcia and administrators from the organization.

The new building will help people with disabilities in West O'ahu without their having to commute to town, Lingle said.

"I don't even want to imagine what their life would be like if they were just left alone and couldn't get the help that they need," Lingle said.

Hannemann, who attended Iolani School with Liu, called him a great success story that shows how some children with disabilities overcome adversity.

"He succeeded," Hannemann said. "He went on to Stanford, became a top-notch physician in our community. He's a real hero. He never asked for any special favors, any special treatment. We just treated him like one of the guys."

Reach Robert Shikina at rshikina@honoluluadvertiser.com.