PLATTSMOUTH - Mayan children living in the rural villages of the Yucatan Peninsula line up when they see Chris Ross walking up the path to their schools.

Through their wide smiles, they shout his name, “Kr-is, Kr-is” knowing the Plattsmouth man will soon be handing them a life-changing gift – a packet of school supplies to last a year. This year marked his 38th visit to the villages.

 

 

Ross: “I’ve been to Yucatan more than 50 times and delivered over 45,000 packets while visiting schools."

Compared to American schools, the supplies might seem meager. But the packets give the children a chance to learn Spanish and get better jobs than cutting wood in the peninsula’s mosquito-infested humid forests where jaguars, coral snakes and crocodiles search for food.

Ross: “Each bag contains a coloring book, box of crayons, notebook, three pencils, two ink pens, candy, a couple of toys and a cross. "

Each school he visits receives a soccer ball and 1-2 reams of paper.

 

His first experience with Mayan children came in 1985.  He took a geography course taught by Byron Agustin at Northwest Missouri State University. The class involved taking a trip to Yucatan with 18 boys and 18 girls to see the ruins.

Ross: “Byron needed an adult chaperone and asked me if I wanted to go." 

Knowing it was the chance of a lifetime, his wife Terri urged him to go. Chris took her advice.

Once there, the group stopped in the Village of Holoctun where Chris first met the heartwarming, dark-haired, brown-eyed native children. “I fell in love with the children,” he said.

In 1986 Chris returned to the village with donated baseball helmets and soccer balls. By his third return trip, he knew more was needed. Once back in Plattsmouth, Chris and his family began filling packets to deliver.

 

 

Ross: “I had every intention of taking packets to the school and then not return."

His no-return policy never took hold.   On July 26, he will return to the villages to help his friend Chacho -- his guide for 32 years -- ready supplies for 2024. “The 39th delivery is underway,” Chris said.

Local entities and individuals donate money to the cause. Ross has raised over $300,000 for supplies and uses his own money for his transportation, food and lodging.

In 1989, Chris visited five different schools. At that time only 25 percent of the children attended school. Seeing the packets, children not enrolled also wanted them.

 

Ross: “We told them they had to go to school to get one. Attendance soared to 90 percent. Once all the kids got enrolled, we eventually delivered 3,250 packets to 75 villages each year.”

In 2012, Chris planned to retire from his mission, but something stopped him.  A third-grade girl came up to him with a tear in her eye. She asked why he wasn’t coming back.

One tear changed his mind. “When I returned the next year, she gave me the biggest hug I had ever received,” he said.

Over the years, Chris persuaded the Yucatan Department of Education Secretary to add seventh- through ninth-grade classes to the system. “After years of pleading my case, they finally put a seventh, eighth and ninth-grade school in the first village. Each school serves five villages, so a dozen schools were needed. It took more than 25 years to get that done.”

 

 

When he turns 69, Chris may finally decide to end his missions there.  “I have become so close to the people and the children, leaving them will not be easy.”

He is not the only one who will regret that day. To the Mayans, the 6-foot, 2-inches-tall Chris is a hero. Today, the children he presents packets to have parents and grandparents who also received them.

The supplies have made a difference. “I’ve seen some of the students working for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for Mexican government airports,” he said. “I also went to one school, knocked on the door and the teacher said ‘Kr-is, Kr-is.’ She got packets from kindergarten through sixth grade, and now she is a teacher who went to high school and college. She was proud to show me around.”

In Puerto Vallarta, Chris heard a young man calling his name. “He now manages a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta. He is fluent in seven languages. He told me how he often thought about the packets he got from me and how he would never have the chance to thank me.”

For Chris, no “thank you” is necessary. “It’s been such a rewarding experience for me. They have honored me with countless awards and lifetime achievement certificates; however, they’ve given me more than I give to them. I want to thank all the people who donated and my family who supported me. It’s been a blessing in disguise for me.”

For more information about Chris’ mission to the Yucatan Peninsula, contact him at [email protected]