It is always nice knowing you can give back to those who gave so much to you, like your family. Senior Wilmar G. Caal is doing just that, by not only helping his family in Guatemala to build a new house, but also being an influential person in his community.
View of Wilmar’s village. Photo provided by Olivia Tennefoss.
Caal is an international student from Guatemala majoring in social work. Caal is a native Mayan Guatemalan from the highlands, a remote part of Northern Guatemala.
Caal is from a large family in which he has twelve siblings. This count rises to sixteen if one were to count his four half-siblings.
“I am from a very small village,” said Caal. “Life there is quite different in the sense that everything we need is available in the village. We don’t rely so much on modern stuff like grocery stores, cars, refrigerators or technological stuff like the internet. We live very simple lives. We live according to everyday, there are not a lot of worries about tomorrow; and what I mean is we are not controlled by the system. We adjust to the system according to our indigenous lifestyle. We like simple living.”
In having so many siblings, Caal’s parents had a lot of people to take care of as well as a lot of people to provide education for. Caal grew up in a small home, and since his family was just trying to make ends meet, they didn’t have an opportunity to expand their living quarters throughout their children’s lives.
The monetary value of money is different in the United States compared to Guatemala. So much so, one Guatemalan
Caal conversing with family and fellow Bluffton students inside the new house. Photo provided by Olivia Tennefoss.
quetzal equals .13 of a US dollar.
Caal has been working since starting school at Bluffton University in 2018. He works in the dining hall serving food, counting the number of people coming in and swiping their IDs.
“I like working there, for it is where I see my friends and greet people as they walk by the dining service hall,” said Caal. “Doing even a little work here to get some money makes a big difference and equates to a lot of quetzals.”
Over the summer, a cross-cultural trip took place in Guatemala for Bluffton students to learn about different communities and cultures. On this trip, Caal attended and was able to make it home and see family while helping to educate the other Bluffton students about his hometown and country.
One of the students in attendance was 2021 alumna Olivia Tennefoss.
Tennefoss knew Caal before going on the trip, and was excited to travel to his home country. Meeting Caal at Bluffton, Tennefoss only knew him in the context of school. Going on this trip enabled her to see Caal showing his caring side to his family and those in his community helping exemplify his skills that he learned in being a social work major.
“We got to meet a lot of community leaders, and Wilmar introduced us,” said Tennefoss. “When he is home, he seems like one of the pillars. His family is one of the pillars of their community. To see the impact that he has and wants to have there, especially building the house for his family, but then his advocacy for the coffee plant that is happening down there and the water filtration system and the radio tower; just those stories, he is spreading those. He supports those and is trying to support those people.”
Caal is a very family-oriented person, and has been raised to be as part of the Guatemalan culture. He described how the Guatemalans have simpler lives and welcome everyone, neighbors are always welcome.
In helping his family to build a new house, he hopes his siblings will remember home and will visit often since there will be enough space to accommodate everyone and more once the house is finished.
After Caal finishes his studies at Bluffton, he plans to return home and use his knowledge in social work to help his community and family.
“I want to be able to serve in the future,” said Caal. “I am learning a lot and I want to make it useful for my community because there are a lot of social issues. I feel like that is my calling from God to be able to serve. I can’t just keep everything I’ve been learning just for myself. I want to make it useful for the rest of the society.”
