Matthew Paneitz

For twenty years, Matt has wholly devoted his life to the redress of ethnic violence and systemic oppression perpetrated against the indigenous peoples of Guatemala. He has been doing this by living in rural San Juan Comalapa and working alongside the population of majority indigenous Kaqchikel Maya. In Comalapa, Matt was exposed first-hand to the brutal aftermath of the Guatemalan Civil War, a colonialism-driven conflict that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives – primarily lives of the indigenous Maya. Now, Guatemala faces additional cross-cutting challenges of environmental degradation and climate change. The desire to help rebuild after and in the face of these challenges led Matt to found Long Way Home (LWH) in Led by Matt, the LWH team and CETC community are building a path forward, one that cultivates empowered education to address the past and present challenges in Guatemala.