After relocating to Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, expat partner Matt Turner’s career took a surprising twist: “I can’t imagine there are many countries where this might have happened!”
How it started
“Previously my wife and I lived in Laos, another landlocked, developing country, where I wasn’t sure what I would do,” says Matt, an Englishman with an academic and professional background in agricultural science. He also worked in transport logistics for a number of years. “I took a role at the expatriating company’s facility, mainly working in health and safety while developing a recycling programme. But I also taught English to the local employees and that’s sort of how all this began…”
Neighbourhood network
“After we relocated to Burundi, I met my new neighbour, another expat partner of the company. He was working for a mineral water company and, by chance, he was about to visit an international school. When I told him that I’d been teaching in Laos, he kindly passed on my contact to the owners. They called me (the same day) to arrange a meeting the next morning…”
Rapid growth
“After I had explained my professional background (in full), the school came back to me with a surprising job offer, not as a teacher but in a management role,” says Matt, who was duly appointed deputy principal. “When I joined there were about 350 students. Now we have over 1,000. We have also tripled the number of teachers in that time. So I have had my hands full since day one. Currently I’m actually the acting principal. As I’m likely to be leaving Burundi in January 2025, finding a new principal (before the next academic year begins) is top of my to-do list!”
Once in a lifetime
“Obviously this was a wholly unexpected career move. Let’s just say every day is different and there have been plenty of challenges. But I’m very glad I took the role on. Our social life in Burundi is very quiet! So rather than sitting at home every day for three years, I’ve had this rich experience, and thanks to my colleagues and the students I have learned so much about Burundi,” says Matt. “When you move to a developing country as an expat partner, I think you have to expect the unexpected. Being here in the first place is a once-in-a-lifetime situation, so why let opportunities to try something different pass you by?”
Photo: Matt at a Cultural Day Celebration in his school where there are over 20 nationalities amongst the staff and students
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