Water is Life
Colleen Brennan is shaping a better future for women and children in Ghana’s Upper East Region by providing compassionate support and clean resources.
Featuring Colleen Brennan
Photography by Gigi Stoll
Words by Christine Morrison
Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.
—W.H. Auden
For Colleen Brennan, co-founder of XO World Project Foundation, good health starts with access to one of the earth’s essential resources: water. “The need is overwhelming,” she says, having observed women and children in Ghana’s Eastern Region trek up to four kilometers daily in the desert heat to collect clean water. “Just because you are not geographically in the best location, does not mean you don’t have the right—the human right—to access water.” In coalition with chiefs and women in the community, Brennan and her organization aim to drill boreholes that tap into underground water sources to reduce these laborious walks. With easier access to clean water, comes health, self-sufficiency, farming opportunities, and even the gift of saved time.
Constructing boreholes in Chuchuliga, two of which are solar-mechanized for the Nawasa community, and several manual in the Sandema and Kandema communities, with an ambitious 26 more to come, brings a lifeline and substantial infusion of hope, yet Brennan acknowledges this is just the beginning; Ghana’s Upper West Region has an equally long dry season.
At the end of 2007, Colleen had a terrible horseback riding accident and was hospitalized. At the time, she had stopped working as a pediatric oncology nurse to raise her children. During her hospital stay, friends and colleagues came to visit often and begged her to return to work. She had always thought about going on a medical mission, but it was never the right time; life had gotten in the way.
Brennan was introduced to Dr. Medhat Allam, founder of Operation International, a nonprofit foundation that conducts medical missions in underserved countries. She decided to join and served as President/Director of Operation International - Kids for over a decade.
In 2022, Brennan was inspired to start her own NGO with Dr. Stephanie Cohen, a prominent plastic surgeon, and the XO World Project Foundation was created.
Having documented several previous missions in Morocco, Peru, Egypt, Kenya, Guatemala, and Jamaica, photographer Gigi Stoll accompanied Brennan (“Who is not just a hero, but a sister to me,” remarks Stoll) on a five-day site tour for XO World Project Foundation. Stoll’s stunning images from Ghana, their 11th collective mission together, capture the essence of Brennan’s spirit and the communities she’s serving as they progress and evolve, one pipeline at a time.
The Hon. Vida Akantagriwen Anaab is the beautiful woman in this picture with me; she is instrumental in getting the community engaged and committed; she is the Chief Executive Officer in Builsa North (part of the Upper East)
Most significant was drinking the water drawn from the boreholes we provided with the chief of the community. It really doesn’t get any better than that! And the water was delicious!
These are the solar-powered mechanized boreholes in Chuchuliga. The man in the picture with me is Naab Francis Akanbegmi Asangalisa, the head chief of Chuchuliga, responsible for thousands of people.
This is Christopher Akanbobnaab, a dear friend and my primary contact and support in Ghana. We have been working together since 2015. He is the hospital administrator for the Holy Family Hospital in Techiman, Ghana, where I bring my medical team. Chris was born and raised in the Upper East, Sandema specifically. He shared with me the suffering of the people from his community we visited two years ago, then put into action our first phase of relief... water. Chris is Vida's son and is on the XO World Project Foundation Board of Directors, acting as Director of International Affairs. (Africa)
I fell in love with the people of Ghana and their dedication to community. The women are so strong, resilient and smart.
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