This is the Netherlands, so everything is very organised. Made to measure and with a clear plan. The background of most children is one of neglect. Drugs. Abuse. Homeless parents. In most cases the child welfare office got involved, but sometimes the child itself has requested to be removed from its home. The idea is for children who have been taken away from problematic family situations to learn how to cope with life again It’s about getting what they want without screaming. The rules are clear and boundaries are set. That way, in a few years, they can take the next step towards living on their own. Some of them spend the weekend at their mum’s and dad’s, but often it’s not what you’d call a party. The parents are usually divorced. And if they are still together, that’s usually a cause for arguments. Mother is angry because father does ‘very bad things’. Father doesn’t pay any attention to that. These things are discussed in cryptic sentences. The children in the shelters have fun and fight, just like all other children. Alverio and Jany have even fallen in love and hold hands all day long. Armed with their cameras they go to the public swimming pool in the middle of winter, and in the freezing cold Jany poses for Alverio in her bikini.

The other children mostly take pictures of themselves, but one boy clearly has a different view on photography. Mitchell. He never speaks, and when he takes pictures, they are of central heating pipes or the inside of a closet. The others find that peculiar. The pictures they take during the weekend are of their parents. Dad drunk, in a filthy room. They don’t fit into that image anymore, but ‘That’s where we come from.’ A ship’s mechanic. That’s what one of them wants to be. But half his photos show shiny Porches and BMWs that he sees driving around the streets of the harbour city. The girls are crazy about babies. Just children. Cheerful. But the shelter staff are careful. ‘The children have been through a lot.’ The other day one of them had a tantrum. There is nothing you can do. At a young age, having to deal with problems that don’t belong in childhood. They know that it isn’t normal and prefer not to talk about it. Brian’s mother has had several husbands, but her current boyfriend is okay. Now he wouldn’t mind going home. And that will probably happen. He wishes the same thing for his friend Michael, because he’s got nothing but bad luck.