Games Kids Play!

Because of sparse living conditions, most Angolan children in rural areas are forced to create their own toys from scratch if they cannot acquire manufactured toys. It is interesting to see what is contrived; there is no lack of ingenuity. Using what is available, old bicycle rims, soda cans, mud, bailing wire and sticks are just a few of the materials used to create imaginative toys.  Here a just a few examples:

Toy trucks are abundant, made out of old scraps of tires, wood and metal.

Using an old bicycle rim and a short stick, races are held between kids.  Once the forward motion of the rim is established, the stick is used to guide the rim in a straight line and to continually propel it forward.  (I tried doing this various times with Angolan kids and it is harder to control than it looks; I was made a great laughingstock for the kids!)

Guitars are often made from old cooking oil tins, with strings being contrived from pieces of wire.