Victoria Mohammed, the heroine putting back smiles on prisoners' faces

Meet Victoria Mohammed, a compassionate young lawyer making a difference in the lives of people behind bars.

Some call her Mama Magereza (prison mama), a name that Victoria, née Nashat Mohammed, has earned for herself due to her immense desire to impact the lives of prisoners.

Well aware that being in prison is not a walk in the park, the 28-year-old founder and CEO of the Prisoners Aid Organisation has dedicated her life to serving people behind bars.

Her mission is to put a smile on their faces, which she says is one of the most gratifying things that anybody can do.

Peleka Tabasamu Gerezani is her organisation’s mission statement, which, translated, means “taking a smile to the prisons."

Victoria says that visiting prisoners gives them hope and shows that there are people out there who care about them, especially those who have not been visited by family members for many years.

How it all started

During a Sunday service in 2021, Victoria had a revelation. The born-again Christian and activist contemplated a unique way of giving an offering to God that went beyond the church's conventional practices.

She believed that visiting prisoners would be a unique way to demonstrate her faith.

Victoria's mission was to "send a smile to the prison," or, as she puts it in Swahili, 'Peleka Tabasamu Gerezani.'

She wanted to visit prisoners and spend time with them, recognising that they often belonged to a forgotten demographic.

While many other vulnerable groups, such as people living with HIV/AIDS, orphans, the elderly, and people with disabilities, receive significant support, prisoners are often overlooked.

"I noticed there was still a negative perception towards prisoners, which is why many people don't consider them when it comes to giving. I have never heard anyone say they are going to visit prisoners who are not their relatives," she explains.

For Victoria, being behind bars doesn't diminish a person's value as a human being.

After church that Sunday, Victoria took to her WhatsApp status clipboard and invited friends and relatives to join her mission.

She listed items such as clothing, sanitary pads, soap, and toothpaste as suitable donations for the prisoners.

While some of her friends on WhatsApp teased her, others sent encouraging messages, expressing their willingness to join her on the tour.

"Their interest in joining me made me realise that visiting prisoners was a worthy idea," recalls Victoria.

Although people responded positively and expressed their support, Victoria took some time to put her idea into action.

Weeks later, she visited Segerea prison to inquire about the procedure for visiting prisoners. Witnessing first-hand the prisoners' difficult conditions deeply touched her heart.

Victoria empathised with their hardships, as she could see that prison life had taken its toll on most of them.

After explaining her intentions to the prison authorities, they welcomed her idea and allowed her to plan her visit.

Upon returning home, she promptly informed those who had shown interest in joining her.

"My habit of keeping in touch with my contacts saved me that time. It was not difficult to gather donations," she says.

Victoria believes that prisoners should not be seen as inherently evil. She understands that one person might be viewed as an angel by some and a devil by others.

According to her, prisoners are individuals who have been legally proven to have committed crimes.

However, she reminds us that there are people outside of prison who may have committed even more serious and heinous offences to warrant imprisonment, but they roam the streets free as birds.

The sole distinction lies in the fact that their wrongdoing has not been legally established.

The idea of turning her mission into a non-governmental organisation came from Leonard Mubali, a BBC Swahili reporter who had expressed interest in joining Victoria on her prison tour.

Despite being unable to participate due to unavoidable reasons, Mubali encouraged Victoria to transform her idea into an NGO. He even pledged to be its first member.

A warm welcome

When Victoria and her team embarked on their visit to the prisoners, they were astounded to find out that the prisoners appeared happier than some free people.

The prisoners prayed for their visitors and sang songs to express their gratitude.

Victoria has since made several visits to Ukonga and Segerea prisons, as well as the Upanga Juvenile Detention Centre in Dar es Salaam.

These visits have taught Victoria an important lesson: many individuals end up behind bars because they have never experienced love or support, despite their weaknesses as human beings.

"Even some of the officers I have spoken to say that many prisoners harbour thoughts of revenge due to the mistreatment they have suffered in the past at the hands of those they trusted the most," Victoria explains, drawing on her personal experiences of abandonment by her father over a decade ago.

In August 2022, she wrote on her Instagram page that some people are notorious today because of what they have been made to go through by other people.

She wrote that not every human being is God-fearing and that some people can’t wait for or believe in God’s revenge.

She went on to say that this is among the reasons why people commit suicide or murder other people. “Please stop hurting those who can’t wait for God’s revenge,” she wrote.

Officially registered in 2022, PAO has been upbeat about training prisoners to cope with stress and offers them free counselling services.

The organisation also provides entrepreneurship education to help prisoners reintegrate into society upon their release. PAO provides free legal aid to prisoners as well.

"We have discovered that many people are denied their rights simply because they lack access to legal aid," Victoria reveals.

PAO collaborates with the Human and Legal Rights Centre, private lawyers, and various other organisations to provide legal aid to those who cannot afford it or have limited support from their families.

This year, PAO plans to advocate on behalf of prisoners who need to appeal their cases, thanks to the support of pro bono advocates.

Victoria is most proud of PAO's impact on improving the lives of women and children in prison.

Through PAO, these have benefited through the provision of necessities like toothpaste, clothing, and soap, which is a fulfilment of her mission to spread love and remind prisoners that they are valued human beings.

Adhering to the proverb "prevention is better than cure," PAO is shifting its focus towards preventing individuals, especially young people, from ending up in prison.

Through its awareness campaigns known as 'Law in the Street,' PAO targets groups of young people known for engaging in unlawful behaviours.

This initiative aims to educate them and help them avoid getting entangled with the criminal justice system.

Victoria firmly believes that prisoners require mental health support too.

Looking at them, she can discern the profound psychological impact of their incarceration and separation from their families.

Despite PAO's remarkable work in the community, Victoria acknowledges that the journey has not been without its challenges. Financial constraints have been a major hurdle for PAO.

Victoria used her personal funds to establish and sustain the organisation, which prevented her from pursuing further education in law after earning her bachelor's degree in 2022 from Kampala International University.

"I reached out to various companies for support, but my efforts proved unsuccessful. Some companies expressed interest but asked for images of us providing aid to prisoners as evidence of our work. Unfortunately, prison regulations prohibit such documentation," she explains.

Another challenge is the delay in obtaining official approval to provide mental health training within prison precincts.

PAO submitted an application expressing its interest to the commissioner of prisons in February of last year but is still awaiting a response.

Victoria argues that legal changes are necessary to address the existing gaps in the country's laws concerning prisoners.

She advocates for allowing prisoners, especially those nearing the end of their sentences, to have the right to vote.

Additionally, she calls for amendments to the law on marriage that nullifies a marriage if one party has been imprisoned for three years.

Victoria asserts that such laws create more problems instead of solving them and proposes that prisoners be allowed to enjoy their conjugal rights while in jail.

The organisation has 45 hectares of land in Iringa where it plans to build a rehabilitation centre for ex-convicts, which will be known as Tabasamu City, which translates as Smile City.

Tabasamu City will temporarily shelter the ex-prisoners, offering enough housing space to accommodate them, a mosque, a church, a hospital, playgrounds, small factories, and shops, among other facilities.

The residents of the city will work in the factories and will only be allowed to work and stay there for a specified period, after which they will be required to start new lives at places of their choice.

Some will work on the farm to produce food, some of which will be donated to prisons, while the surplus will be sold.

The money generated from the farm and the factories will be shared between the convicts and the Prison Aid Organisation, whereby the ex-convicts will take 60 percent of the proceeds while 40 percent will be retained by PAO.

Besides providing them with a shelter, PAO will also fund them with some seed capital when they finally leave the shelter to start a new life.

The organisation acquired the land in October last year, which was donated by one of its members.

PAO calls upon the government and well-wishers to support it to turn Tabasamu City into a reality.

“We have learnt that many convicts repeat offences after they are released so they can be sent back to prison because of the fear of starting a new life after prison time. Sometimes society may not trust them, and so they may be stigmatised,” shares Victoria.

Victoria's wish is to inspire more Tanzanians to establish organisations dedicated to defending the rights of prisoners and dispelling misconceptions about them in society.