7 creative ways Kenyans used plastics while growing up that you won't understand

Plastic balls 'Ball ya Juala'

Everybody must have made one of these while growing up. It was the ultimate way to kill boredom.

Some boys were so good in making balls from plastic bags that it rivaled the real ball made of hides bought in shops.

Just like life, they came in different sizes, different textures and different materials.

Also read: TOP 8 MOST MEMORABLE KENYAN HIGH SCHOOL SET BOOKS

Plastic dolls

undefined BusinessInsider USA Images

With no money to buy Barbie dolls, girls had to be creative.

Kids used to collect soft polythene bags and then slowly tie them together into a shape of a life form barbie doll and then care and proceed to sing countless lullaby songs to the doll until they drove themselves to sleep.

Girls favourite past time activity 'kati'

Girls will miss this, okay boys too will miss this back in the day there were no gender specific games so we all used to play until cows came home.

Kids used to assemble tens of small plastic containers of cooking fat and then compete in dismantling them one by one and then arrange them again as they jump from one side to another to avoid being hit by a ball thrown by a player on each side.

Some girls were masters of this game and had addictive graceful moves that would hook all the village boys who would come sit down and watch with their jaws wide open.

Slingshot

A Palestinian uses a slingshot during demonstrations at the Erez border crossing with Israel in the northern Gaza Strip on October 3, 2018 AFP

While growing up, and later attending Sunday’s school Kenyan kids were taught how David killed Goliath with a slingshot, and for once boys had no problem aping examples from the holy book.

Polythene bags were in plenty so young boys used to collect a lot of these bags slice them up and then tie them together to make something like a rope.

They would then tie a small stone at the far end and swing the damn thing which produced a weird sound as it got blown by the wind, sometimes accidents would occur after the stone slipped away and hurt someone but then that was growing up and it didn’t matter.

Book Covers and Calendars

When flashy cow boy polythene bags entered the Kenyan market, Kenyans were blown away.

Kids got creative with the shopping plastic bags brought home by their parents and carefully sliced the paper and used it to cover their Kasuku exercise book to make them last longer.

Some polythene bags also came printed with calendars and so there was no need to buy one, Kenyans used to simply carefully sliced it out and stick it on their walls

School bags

Kenyan school children. (nadjawohlleben) Pulse Live Kenya

Kenyans will miss carrying their school books with plastic bags once the ban comes into effect.

Growing up life was tough and getting a school bag cost an arm and a leg, in fact any kid who had a modern school bag was treated with respect and was the school hero.

Also read: 4 CLASSICAL KENYAN SONGS OF ALL TIME

The rest had to do with school bags sewed at the local shop if not you proudly carried your books in polythene bags.

Your Mum’s favorite storage

I don’t know about what went through the mind of many Kenyan moms then.

They used to have this big polythene bag which they discretely stored away and then every time they would get back home from the market they would store all the bags in that one big plastic bag I don’t know for future use or what?

Do you remember other uses of plastic bags? please share below on the comments section.