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.