When Andy Hindes wanted to build homes for charity in 2006, his goal was to work with families in South America. But he changed his mind when he found conditions were not much different in areas of his own country.

Many of the Navajo people live without plumbing and electricity, and some live only in small shacks. Hindes's charity group has built five homes for needy Navajo so far, and this week will build five homes in five days, finishing Sunday.

"These homes will all have plumbing and electricity," he said. "You'd be surprised how many homes we've done that don't have plumbing or electricity."

The homes that are built are usually equipped with basic wiring, even though Hindes said there is often no plumbing or electricity access within half a mile. The basic wiring allows the homes to be connected to a small generator or any electricity access that comes in the future. For plumbing, however, an outhouse is usually built.

The five homes to be built this week have access to plumbing and electricity, and Hindes said it will be the first time they have installed a bathroom in one of their homes.

Hindes said the group has built homes in Lukachukai, Chinle, Sanders and now Bodaway Gap, all in the Navajo Nation in Arizona. The homes are in the area known as "Bennett Freeze," where all building was frozen by the government during a border dispute with the Hopi in the 1970s. Not only could residents not build any new homes, they could not do any repairs on existing homes.

Throughout the area, Hindes said he found residents to be living in conditions not much different from Central and South America, so the group decided to focus its efforts within the United States.

"There's just as much need down there, if not more," he said.

Dozens of volunteers will be making the five-hour trip south from Utah County in the next couple of days to build the homes, which Hindes said are built and furnished entirely through donations. The walls are preformed from Springville-based VanCon Construction, and the trusses will be purchased at cost, with one set free, from Truss Works in Spanish Fork.

All of the furnishings from the homes are donated as well, with some beds coming from Brigham Young University and appliances from various donors. Hindes said he often calls people selling refrigerators or stoves in classifieds and asks them to donate the items.

"We feel like we've been blessed when we need something," he said. "Even sometimes when it's at the last minute, they show up."

The homes are a big improvement for the destitute families the group serves, and Hindes said they may even be a lifesaver. The group focuses on the elderly and families with small children, and without a well-insulated home, these vulnerable age groups often do not survive the cold winters and hot summers.

The group's goal is to build at least two homes each year, and each new home is built in three to four days. However, when Hindes and his partners spoke with Leon Van Sickle to work on a project together, Van Sickle suggested the idea of five homes in five days.

Van Sickle, who owns VanCon Construction, said he felt the homes could be completed in such a short time because his company would be able to offer preformed walls. The walls and trusses will be up in a matter of hours once they are taken to Arizona, which will save days of work.

This will be the first time VanCon Construction will be involved in the project. Van Sickle said he became interested in the work after meeting Hindes and visiting the Bodaway Gap area.

"I went down there and saw the conditions they were living in, and it was literally a third-world country," Van Sickle said.

Van Sickle said he anticipates being involved in future projects because there are so many people in the Navajo Nation who do not have a home or do not have adequate resources in their living space. In some homes that were visited, there was little insulation, and the home was no warmer than the outdoors.

"It's still just a huge need for housing down there," he said.

Along with Doug McDonald and Hindes, Scott Gifford has been a partner in Hearts and Hands in Action since the three co-founded it. Gifford, who lives in Alpine, said he was originally tasked with looking for worthwhile projects when he met with Gladeeh Begaye about service in the Navajo Nation. Begaye is a Navajo woman who routinely does service in the area, and she steered the group toward the Navajos in need.

Gifford said the need was clear when the group visited Arizona to see the living conditions. Many of the people live away from towns and resources, and their homes are made of whatever they can find. When the building freeze was in place, the Navajo did not want to leave their land, so some families moved into whatever structure they could find. Some live in chicken coops, others in small shacks, and one family lived in a makeshift home that was composed of a rail fence with a roof that they had made.

"I was shocked by the conditions down at the reservation," he said.

There are so many people in need that it is hard to choose who needs a home the most, so usually those with small children or the elderly are helped first. The homes are simple, about 24 feet by 36 feet, but they are a vast improvement for a family with no home in a community with high unemployment rates.

"The median income down there is under $5,000 a year, not a month," Gifford said.

Gifford said the project has grown over time, and he is happy to see the effort put in by communities around Utah. Most of the donations come from Utah County and the Wasatch Front, and Gifford said the volunteers who work on the houses pay their own way. Gifford said he thinks it is great that so many people want to help and give up their time.

"It's just a privilege to be able to serve somebody else," he said.