David and Marissa Troxell (left) with the students of Kolinieri School and Kerry Ann Frost from the Camberwell, Melbourne Australia Rotary Club Jim Smith introduced our speakers, David and Marissa Troxell. David has been a Jamestown Rotarian since 2011. David and Marissa were recognized in 2016 as Rotarian of the Year for their work traveling the world making sure our Rotary Club stays involved in international projects. They have a long history of philanthropy and project planning. They live in Cha Am, Thailand in the winter.
David and Marissa are reporting back on the 2019/20 Project in Tanzania. The Club does international projects representing about 40% of the Club’s philanthropic activities.
Here is a history of projects David and Marissa have brought to the Club, and have personally overseen:
2014
Cambodia Academy school yard grass and classroom white boards.
Women’s Weaving Project as a 3 year project in cooperation with the Jawalakehl Rotary Club in Katmandu, Nepal.
2015
School wide eye screening at Cambodia Academy. 18 children needed glasses and got them.
Book drive for the Cambodia Academy
2016
Clean water filtration system for Cambodia Academy
2017
New toilet and freshwater cistern in partnership with the Rotary Club of Yangon, Myanmar
2018
Upgraded toilets and washing areas for Cambodia Academy
2019
Cooperative project with the Rotary Club of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Saint Michael’s diocese, Addis Ababa to build a school cafeteria for their hot lunch program.
Repair and replace classroom desks and benches at Cambodia Academy.
2019/2020
Combined project in Moshi, Tanzania for clean toilets and clean hands at the Kaloleini Primary School. Rotary Clubs of Jamestown, Camberwell, Australia and Moshi, Tanzania.
The Troxells flew to Tanzania through Nairobi Kilimanjaro airport, where they said a prayer for Dr. Tim Grace who passed away last summer while on a climb there.
They were hosted by Kerry Ann Frost from Camberwell, Australia and Ally Ramadhani who lives in Moshi. These two run an organization, Team Vista, which works with the Kaloleini Primary School.There is a Rotary Club in Moshi which oversees the funding. The Troxells noted that Rotary has a significant presence in Tanzania, with many projects and the Rotary emblem is often seen.
The Troxells had excellent pictures documenting their trip. Moshi is a town with a couple of blocks of city buildings surrounded by a network of markets and primitive housing. There is a creek that runs through the town and is the source of water for many. Two dominant religions are Muslim and Roman Catholic. The area around the school is very primitive. There is a garbage dump nearby where people pick through the trash and children help.
The school is pretty basic. There is no electricity. The rooms are filled with desks or benches. The Troxells noted that students develop a real allegiance to the school because it is so much better than their home life. All kids have uniforms, and the school is clean and provides regular meals. In the school cafeteria, food is prepared over a fire made of sticks. The kids really practice English. The administration really pushes it, because it means advancement.
When David and Marissa arrived there were 24 toilets with steel doors. These were simply dry drop latrine pits in the floor with no water. The Troxells provided insets-flanges to put over latrines. Water was plumbed into each one.
The Troxells took a three day camping sightseeing trip to the Mgorogoro Crater game park, Olduvai Gorge where Louis and Mary Leakey made their discovery and the Serengeti National Park and had quite a marvelous adventure documented by more wonderful pictures.
Returning from their trip, their focus turned from toilet improvements, which was now complete, to the washing house area, which was a totally new structure. The concept is to have the children go straight out of toilets, through two doors (for boys and girls) to washing areas where there is a line of a dozen or so water taps and soap bags. This is to reduce cases of diarrhea and diseases caused by parasites which kill later in life. Marissa and David helped with construction. 
Students washing in the new hand washing area in Moshi
While there, Marissa and David sponsored a girl, Maria, so she could continue to go to school. They also sponsored a boy, Mustafa. Anyone can sponsor a child for $175 a year, just contact Marissa.
Questions and Answers
What do you eat and drink on your trips? We drink bottled water and eat local food. You do get sick once in a while. It is wonderful to be a part of Rotary projects, because local Rotarians invite you over for meals. On this trip, we ate a lot of goat.
What kind of injections did you get? Just the regular, but also Malaria pills including a month and a half after. Marissa says she thinks in the future she will be getting rabies vaccines as a precaution.
What’s next for you? The Troxells have been invited to the Millennial Sunrise Rotary of Karachi, Pakistan has an interesting project, but who knows what the travel hurdles will be.