Children in an informal settlement near Gugulethu Cape Town, South Africa, use government-issued coloured condoms to make slingshots.
The slingshot is a small, hand-powered weapon, sometimes used to hunt small game like birds and small mammals. The traditional form consists of a Y-shaped piece of wood, normally made from tree branches, but sometimes crafted out of metal, and a rubber strip attached to each point of the top of the frame. The weapon is held in the non-dominant hand, while the dominant hand draws back the rubber which normally has a cradle, or pocket, of leather or other materials, in which the projectile is housed. Projectiles used are small stones or pebbles, ball bearings, or marbles. The dominant hand draws back the cradle far enough for the desired amount of power to launch the projectile.
These children are currently not attending schools, in line with a South African government directive to close public schools for a short period to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, and hence the children have found novel ways to entertain themselves.
Video captured by Ayanda Ndamane from the African News Agency (ANA)