Mzuzu Prison
Netherlands

Kadir van Lohuizen travelled to Malawi to complete the first phase of a collaborative project with ‘Young in Prison’, a Dutch NGO that campaigns for the rights of juveniles in prisons. The first chapter of this long-term project starts at the Mzuzu prison in Malawi. The project consists of a photo essay produced by Kadir documenting their living conditions and day-to-day life, and a workshop of practical photography exercised with 11 juvenile inmates.

The prizon in Muzuzu holds 450 prisoners, of which 60 are juveniles. Living conditions are harsh – the prison is so overcrowded the inmates cannot lie down to sleep, and eat once a day. For the few hours they are allowed outside, they often sleep sitting or lying down in the courtyard. Many prisoners only commited minor or no real crimes, mostly due to economic and social troubles the country is facing.

Kadir produced a black and white photo essay about the prison while the 11 students also produced a series of color photographs. The outcome is quite impressive, considering that none of the boys had ever touched a camera before.