Like many of his peers, life in the 1960s was so laid back, the most common economic activity was farming. Very few young people got a chance to attend school either because their families did not believe it was important to do so or because there simply was "no money for school fees" despite raring cattle. Those were the days when a "true man" was perceived to be the one who showed a lot of interest in domestic chores such as cattle herding and tilling corn or sorghum fields. Boys as young as six-years-old would be forced to wake up early every morning to go and look after the family's cattle in the bush.
While herding cattle, normally the boys would play various traditional games such as Mhele. But there were those who felt such were too boring and would go for something that would revitalise the mind a little bit and indigenous musical instruments such as Segaba, Setinkane and the guitar were often carried on such expeditions. Most parents were stoutly against such an idea as they believed it would make the boys lose focus and allow livestock to go astray, destroy crops or simply disappear. But the boys would still find a way around every challenge. Cooking oil cans and planks were used to make guitars, which would keep them entertained until evening when it was time to return home.Kgaila was part of that generation.
