People

University of Nottingham student Alexander Mclean is no student lay-about.

For the past five years, he has spent his spare time volunteering in prisons and hospices in and around Africa, has founded the African Prisons Project and has just been appointed Assistant Commissioner of Prisons in Zambia.

Despite being previously dubbed 'Alexander the Great' by the prisoners he's worked with, Alexander is the youngest person in the world to have been given this role, and is suitably apprehensive:

"I've put myself in a situation where a lot is expected of me… it's a really exciting prospect… although… it is something that is never far from the front of my mind - thinking are we going to raise enough money and get all the medical equipment, books and computers that we need?"

Following graduation this summer, Alexander will pack his bags and make for Zambia, where he will spend a 15 month stint building a hospital, day care unit and library, in partnership with the British High Commission.

Although this is a mammoth amount of time to spend out of the country, Alexander is something of a veteran in things such as this and will definitely be in good company, having recruited volunteers in his classmates at the University of Nottingham:

Revamping a prison library

"I've got quite a lot of other students who will also be coming to visit, helping to make the project a reality. I've done talks for various societies at the university, like the Afro-Carribbean Society and it's usually people who've listened to those talks who've thought they'd like to give it a try."

As well as making improvements to prison facilities and prisoners' living conditions, Alexander also intends to voice his opinion regarding prison as a form of discipline, having had to witness children as young as seven years old being imprisoned for crimes in 'loitering':

"One of the things I hope to do in my time in Zambia will be to speak to others who work with the governments to change the patterns of who gets put in prison. I know in Zambia they're considering using more community service punishments and I hope that the first to benefit from this will be the most vulnerable - it's difficult seeing young people, pregnant women and very old people in prison. It just feels wrong, like they shouldn't be there."

Alex in a child prison, Sierra Leone

Alexander's quest is inspired by the strong will of his grandmother, Aileen Lily Chapple:

"She was a very determined and resilient woman. Sometimes I say she was a little bit like a prisoner, because she was old and slightly frail, but her mind was still very active. So she was trapped in her body, like the prisoners are trapped behind bars.

Although he intends on spending the next 15 months in Zambia, Alexander is still very focused on his future career:

"I definitely want to take up employment in a field which will allow me to continue doing humanitarian work. Whilst in Zambia I intend to read for a masters degree in human rights law. When I return I'll either qualify as a barrister, in which case I could spend some of my time as an advocate for prisoners in these countries, perhaps to challenge issues such as the death penalty. Otherwise I might study medicine."