THE HAZARDOUS EPICENTRE. At exactly 7.00am, the school time keeper was expected to bang the Gong (which was hanging on a branch of a tree at the gate) meaning that school was officially open for business. Pupils were always expected to be in their classrooms by that time. Whoever reported after risked being punished depending on how harsh the teacher on duty was. For one (1) hour, pupils (P.3-P.7) were expected to be attending morning prep together with a teacher who would first mark books containing the homework he or she would have left with the pupils the previous evening. After marking the books, the teacher would then guide the whole class in corrections by answering all the questions. Of course, the morning prep had a lot of interruptions given that the teacher would always stop time and again to cane pupils that would have reported late. This meant that on a bad day, a late pupil would be canned twice in one morning, first by the teacher on duty and then by the teacher in class. Being a church founded primary day school; serious work would never start before saying prayers. So at exactly 8.00am of every single week day, we always converged in the chapel for blessings. The chapel aka the main hall at Kigezi High School Primary was located in two (2) primary school six (P.6) classrooms. Between these classrooms, there was a foldable door made out of card board. So whenever it would be time for prayers, strong boys would fold it merging the two rooms into one big one. Thereafter, the P.6 pupils would carry their desks and chairs out leaving a big empty room. Of course we never used to sit due to the limited space. It was only the teachers that would sit on chairs arranged in the front facing us the young boys. Standing in the chapel was in an implied order. The young and short used to stand in front whereas the old and tall used to stand behind. Once we would all enter, the teacher on duty would lead us in a praise song/ hymn with its lyrics which would be written on the front chalk board. After the song, a bible portion would be read by a pre-selected pupil and thereafter one teacher would preach for a few minutes. After the sermon, the same teacher would lead us in the Lord’s Prayer by saying, “TATAITWE (Our father)” calling us to reply in Unison, “TAITWEWOMWIGURU (our Father in heaven)…….. Continue till the end. Thereafter, the teacher would intercede for us, the church, country, the sick, travelers etc. Once he would be done, he would then request us to share the words of the Grace by saying, “EMBABAZI (May the Grace) and we would also reply, “EMBABAZI ZA MUKAMA WEITU YESU KURISTO (May the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ)…up to the end. After the prayers, teachers would make announcements to the school climaxed by HEDA (the headmaster). The big man would then release us officially for class after about thirty (30) minutes. That said, the chapel was not a bed of roses. Being small rooms for a big population of over 1,000 (one thousand) pupils, it was so overcrowded and would always be hot. Then whoever stood behind would never concentrate to whatever would be said in the front due to “KUKYOKORA (slaps)” and “KODI (knocks on the head)” that would originate from the stubborn boys standing behind. One would often be slapped and on turning, he always found all the boys staring at the front and would never know the actual criminal. Therefore, we always stood facing the front but with our inner eyes staring at the back to “KWESHUMBA (miss)” the slaps, meaning that there was limited attentiveness to whatever was being said infront. With rough boys from RWERE, RUHITA and RWAKASHUNJU villages, answering the calls of nature was inevitable. So whenever any boy passed wind, the whole place would “die” because of the terrible stench. In a bid to run away from the smell, pupils always moved from the suspected epicenter (origin) of the KINYAMPO (gas) and form a circle leaving an empty space. If one would be absent minded or even lost in prayer, the circle would be formed around him meaning that he was the chief GASER of the day. The pupils around would then start murmuring while cheering the culprit. Definitely, it would be embarrassing if you opened your eyes and found yourself deserted with the rest laughing at you and whispering, YASHUKA (He has poured air from behind). As a result, the majority of us learnt how to pray with our eyes wide open. To date, I find it very difficult to complete a prayer without opening my eyes however short it may be. Although it was bad manners, we were informally taught that “ABARINDA WAKAME BAZORA AMEISHO” (Whoever is guarding a rabbit at the entrance of a hole must always keep his or her eyes open) or else the fast rabbit will escape. I have come to learn that even on this planet, it is strictly the guys whose eyes are wide open that are able to see and analyze whatever is going on. It is therefore not a surprise that most successful people are able to see opportunities even in the worst circumstance.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 07:21:50 +0000
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