General Image Gallery

EDUCATOR SHARES:<br />
Tim Reilly, Lincoln-Way educator and Rotarian who travelled to Uganda this summer to work with teachers and students at a school for orphans and underprivileged children spoke to the group about his experiences with the Tinley Park-Frankfort Rotary Club on Sept. 15, 2011. Below is information regarding this presentation and images he brought back to share.<br />
<br />
Because of the generous spirit of Lincoln-Way High School District 210 students and staff, a number of Ugandan orphans now have a chance to receive an education and pull themselves out of poverty.<br />
<br />
Students have been collecting loose change for the past seven years and sending it to a school in Kawempe, Uganda that helps feed, clothe and educate nearly 200 orphans and underprivileged children.<br />
<br />
“Because Lincoln-Way kids have big hearts … these kids have hope,” Lincoln-Way Instructional Director Tim Reilly told members of the Tinley Park-Frankfort Rotary Club recently.<br />
<br />
Reilly, who is a Rotarian, was invited to speak at the club’s Sept. 15 and share information about his recent trip to Uganda where he met the teachers at Miracle Destiny School and saw firsthand how the money and school supplies collected by Lincoln-Way students have been used.<br />
<br />
“Lincoln-Way had a lot to do with the school getting started,” said Reilly, explaining how the school numbered 14 students seven years ago – when Lincoln-Way students first learned about its existence – and has since grown to include nearly 200 students.<br />
<br />
Students started collecting loose change for the school after reading the book Of Beetles & Angels by Mawi Asgedon.<br />
<br />
The book tells the story of how Asgedon’s family fled civil war in Ethiopia and later moved to Chicago where Asgedon earned a scholarship to Harvard University.<br />
<br />
Hoping to give other children an opportunity to succeed, students and staff decided to collect money for Miracle Destiny School in Uganda, which strives to pull children from poverty by educating them.<br />
<br />
Students learned about the school when its founder, Robert Nabulere, was in the area visiting one of his supporters -- Grace Church in Minooka.<br />
<br />
That first year, Lincoln-Way students raised $2,000 for the school. The second year, they raised $2,800.<br />
<br />
Nabulere came to Lincoln-Way in 2009 to personally thank students and staff for their generosity. He issued Reilly a personal invitation at that time to visit his school.<br />
<br />
Not fond of flying, Reilly passed on the invitation until his 17-year-old daughter, Maryjane, “caught wind” of the invitation and indicated she wanted to go.<br />
<br />
“She’s an adventurer,” said Reilly, still reluctant to board an airplane for a 16-hour flight.<br />
<br />
“I thought it would be a great mother/daughter trip,” he admitted.<br />
<br />
But in the end, it was father/daughter who took the 10-day trip in June.<br />
<br />
It was an experience Reilly will never forget – or regret.<br />
<br />
“It’s a nation of orphans,” he said, showing photographs of the children he met, the shacks where they live and the school where they receive an education that could lead to a better life.<br />
<br />
Students who do well in school and pass an exam receive a free education at the university level. Those who don’t pass the exam, go back to the streets where they have no chance of pulling themselves out of poverty.<br />
<br />
“There are only two directions their lives can take,” said Reilly. “There are no factory jobs, no industry in Uganda.”<br />
<br />
Reilly will be sharing his photographs with teachers, who plan to share them with students as they read Of Beetles & Angels in future years.<br />
<br />
One of the photos – a photo of some of the Ugandan children who really tugged at Reilly’s heartstrings -- now serves as a screensaver on his computer <br />
<br />
“I don’t want to forget,” he explained.<br />
<br />
“I went to visit our `sister school’ and help their teachers,” he added, “but I was impacted by the kids and teachers more than I helped. <br />
<br />
“I thought I knew what to expect from the pictures and correspondences over the years,” said Reilly, “but until I could see the school and community and feel their need personally, I really didn’t understand. That school is doing incredible work with so few resources. I was honored to work with them.”<br />
<br />
Pictured above:<br />
Ugandan children who have benefitted from the generosity of Lincoln-Way High School District 210 students and staff pose for a photo during Tim Reilly’s visit to the country this past summer. Reilly spent eight days in Uganda observing and coaching eight teachers at a school for orphans and underprivileged children.

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EDUCATOR SHARES:
Tim Reilly, Lincoln-Way educator and Rotarian who travelled to Uganda this summer to work with teachers and students at a school for orphans and underprivileged children spoke to the group about his experiences with the Tinley Park-Frankfort Rotary Club on Sept. 15, 2011. Below is information regarding this presentation and images he brought back to share.

Because of the generous spirit of Lincoln-Way High School District 210 students and staff, a number of Ugandan orphans now have a chance to receive an education and pull themselves out of poverty.

Students have been collecting loose change for the past seven years and sending it to a school in Kawempe, Uganda that helps feed, clothe and educate nearly 200 orphans and underprivileged children.

“Because Lincoln-Way kids have big hearts … these kids have hope,” Lincoln-Way Instructional Director Tim Reilly told members of the Tinley Park-Frankfort Rotary Club recently.

Reilly, who is a Rotarian, was invited to speak at the club’s Sept. 15 and share information about his recent trip to Uganda where he met the teachers at Miracle Destiny School and saw firsthand how the money and school supplies collected by Lincoln-Way students have been used.

“Lincoln-Way had a lot to do with the school getting started,” said Reilly, explaining how the school numbered 14 students seven years ago – when Lincoln-Way students first learned about its existence – and has since grown to include nearly 200 students.

Students started collecting loose change for the school after reading the book Of Beetles & Angels by Mawi Asgedon.

The book tells the story of how Asgedon’s family fled civil war in Ethiopia and later moved to Chicago where Asgedon earned a scholarship to Harvard University.

Hoping to give other children an opportunity to succeed, students and staff decided to collect money for Miracle Destiny School in Uganda, which strives to pull children from poverty by educating them.

Students learned about the school when its founder, Robert Nabulere, was in the area visiting one of his supporters -- Grace Church in Minooka.

That first year, Lincoln-Way students raised $2,000 for the school. The second year, they raised $2,800.

Nabulere came to Lincoln-Way in 2009 to personally thank students and staff for their generosity. He issued Reilly a personal invitation at that time to visit his school.

Not fond of flying, Reilly passed on the invitation until his 17-year-old daughter, Maryjane, “caught wind” of the invitation and indicated she wanted to go.

“She’s an adventurer,” said Reilly, still reluctant to board an airplane for a 16-hour flight.

“I thought it would be a great mother/daughter trip,” he admitted.

But in the end, it was father/daughter who took the 10-day trip in June.

It was an experience Reilly will never forget – or regret.

“It’s a nation of orphans,” he said, showing photographs of the children he met, the shacks where they live and the school where they receive an education that could lead to a better life.

Students who do well in school and pass an exam receive a free education at the university level. Those who don’t pass the exam, go back to the streets where they have no chance of pulling themselves out of poverty.

“There are only two directions their lives can take,” said Reilly. “There are no factory jobs, no industry in Uganda.”

Reilly will be sharing his photographs with teachers, who plan to share them with students as they read Of Beetles & Angels in future years.

One of the photos – a photo of some of the Ugandan children who really tugged at Reilly’s heartstrings -- now serves as a screensaver on his computer

“I don’t want to forget,” he explained.

“I went to visit our `sister school’ and help their teachers,” he added, “but I was impacted by the kids and teachers more than I helped.

“I thought I knew what to expect from the pictures and correspondences over the years,” said Reilly, “but until I could see the school and community and feel their need personally, I really didn’t understand. That school is doing incredible work with so few resources. I was honored to work with them.”

Pictured above:
Ugandan children who have benefitted from the generosity of Lincoln-Way High School District 210 students and staff pose for a photo during Tim Reilly’s visit to the country this past summer. Reilly spent eight days in Uganda observing and coaching eight teachers at a school for orphans and underprivileged children.