by Bob Molsberry
May 21, 2025
The bright light of Dolly Parton’s fame and goodwill has shined on a sleepy corner of Iowa, a landscape of family farms, dusty rural villages, and struggling Mississippi River towns. But Donnellson, Iowa, a village in Iowa’s southeastern corner, is also home to Ernest (Ernie) Schiller, a member of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, a retired science teacher, and former Iowa Teacher of the Year, who just received Dolly Parton’s prestigious “Chasing Rainbows” award.
The “Chasing Rainbows” award is an annual recognition for an outstanding teacher who, like Parton herself, has overcome obstacles in their lives to give back in an impactful way so that others might achieve similar success. Parton is renowned for her support for education and her gifts of books to needy children.
Schiller’s award recognizes his outreach to rural Nepal.
On the heels of an adventurous visit to the country of Nepal ten years ago, shortly after the devastating earthquake of 2015, Schiller was struck by the damage to rural mountainside schools and villages. So he went back home to Iowa, gathered some money and educational supplies, and returned to help rebuild schools and infrastructure. By now he has made twelve such trips, spent over a year and a half total in Nepal, taking with him over 200 North American and global volunteers, and invested a quarter million dollars that he has raised almost single-handedly through his pop-up nonprofit foundation, Rebuild Nepal Education Foundation, Inc. Dolly Parton recognized his work with her prestigious “Chasing Rainbows” Award.
Through the non-profit, Schiller has rebuilt schools in the remote mountainous region outside of the Kathmandu valley, helped pay for school fees and uniforms and backpacks for destitute children, improved water systems, provided food boxes and sanitation kits for tens of thousands of families during the pandemic, sent school supplies from paper and pencils to microscopes, and offered scholarships for hundreds of children. Rebuild Nepal Education Foundation has made it possible for over 25,000 students to attend school, with 49 students advancing to college so far.
St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Donnellson, Iowa, is a strong supporter of Schiller and this project.
Schiller’s next group trip is already underway. He has 4,000 backpacks to deliver, and plans to visit over 32 schools, including schools for deaf, blind, autistic, and physically handicapped students. And, even at 76 years of age, he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Visit Rebuild Nepal Education Foundation’s website: www.rebuildnepaleducation.org
Please reach out to me for further information,
Rev. Bob Molsberry, Ernest Schiller contact:
Secretary, Board of Directors ernestschiller@hotmail.com
Rebuild Nepal Education Foundation, Inc. rebuildnepaleducation@gmail.com
molsberrybob@gmail.com
618-339-7589