05.01.04 Part 2 of How Negative Gossip Almost Took My Life

The Anti-Gossip Environment at Gayaza Junior

My parents were not the only ones against badmouthing people, as I later discovered at Gayaza Junior and later High School which I attended from primary one to senior six. I will always thank God and my parents for choosing those institutions. For among the tons of knowledge that I gathered from there, the missionary schools subscribed to the same ‘zero-tolerance to gossip’ as my mum and dad. I joined Gayaza Junior when I was six years old, after attending Auntie Claire’s Kindergarten near the Kabaka’s palace. As you and I would know, that was during my so-called formative years which psychologists assert as essential for shaping a child’s emotional, social, cognitive and physical growth, laying a foundation for his or her future behaviour amongst other things; one of which would be to disdain gossiping against people.

‘Injected in our veins’ was the Gayaza Girl brand, a woman with self-dignity. How could she turn into a gossipmonger of all things? My goodness! The very programming of Gayaza Junior School’s activities would dry up any appetite that a girl would have had for aimless talk. The day was packed and run strictly on time; waking us up with a drum beat nicknamed ‘Bugu’ which was short for ‘bugutaanya, a Luganda word meaning ‘stir up’ in English. We would then bathe at a count of one to ten, followed by ‘early-morning’ community work, dashing off for breakfast then reporting to classes on school days; after which we would have lunch; afternoon classes, recreation activities, dinner at six pm, then early to bed for the young ones and preparatory class or ‘prep’ for the older ones; then ‘lights out’! Saturday was accessorised with cleaning and laundry activities after which we would dress-up in our ‘kiboobos’, a slang for ‘best of the best attire’. On Sundays we would put on white uniforms and attend service at the Anglican church followed by afternoons of playing, bonding, fun and welcoming our parents for visits, which were not scheduled as it is these days.

Another thing that worked against engaging in venomous talk were the tiny clusters at Gayaza Junior, especially for girls in primary one and two. Each girl had a housemother who was in charge of a dormitory where the number of students were smallenough for us to bond, creating a warm, loving, sisterly and family-like atmosphere which hardly left any room for bitter gossip against each other. Do not get me wrong. That does not mean that Gayaza girls do not gossip against people; but for me, the environment in the school contributed immensely to bringing me up that way. And, giving all glory to God, I am so proud to be a ‘Gayaza Girl’.

Fast-forward, by the time I got to Gayaza High School and Makerere University thereafter, gossiping about people was strange to my ears; though I discovered later that in many circles, it was indeed the order of the day.