Streetnet International
International Alliance of Street Vendors

International Council

The International Council meets annually, consisting of representation by eleven (11) elected members in addition to the International President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, of whom at least (50%) must be women.

Lorraine Sibanda (Zimbabwe)

President

Lorraine Sibanda ( nee Ndhlovu) is the current President of the Zimabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA) and StreetNet International. She is based in Gwanda town, which is about 600kilometres south of Harare, Zimbabwe. Her life line business is cross border trading and goat farming. Prior to her new life and positions of engagement, Lorraine is a qualified teacher and taught primary school for 10 years. She left teaching to start self-help projects in 2008 when the Zimbabwean economy became complicated for civil servants. This is when she started becoming a member of civic organizations. In 2011 she was voted ZCIEA Gwanda territorial President.

As a result, she started growing through the ranks of ZCIEA work and activism until 2015 when she was voted ZCIEA National President. In 2016, Lorraine was voted StreetNet International President. This StreetNet Presidency was renewed in April 2019 in Kyrgyzstan.

During her National and International portfolios, Lorraine has raised the unsung song of the recognition of the informal economy workers in the global working world as people who contribute to their countries’ economies. They must be recognised and not criminalised. Part of this campaign includes her meaningful participation at the International Labour Conference in 2018 and 2019, where she headed informal economy workers’ International advocacy on inclusion of the informal economy workers in the convention on eradication of violence and harassment in the world of work. She even presented a position paper at the ILC in both years. This advocacy was a formidable success. Lorraine has been a champion of the informal economy workers’ advocacy for change since her International engagement. She has been at various International platforms to defend the rights of workers in the informal economy. This includes expressing vulnerability of women in various forms of precarious work for their lives to be improved. Read Lorraine’s full biography here. 

Alberto Santana (Dominican Republic)

Vice-President

Alberto Santana is the Vice President of Streetnet Internacional, President of FUTTEINCO, and Secretary for projects of the Confederación Nacional de Trabajadores Dominicanos – CNTD. He started in the union of self-employed metalworkers, in his native Barahona, Dominican Republic, then he studied Industrial Engineering and started his own business. He was Secretary of International Relations of the CNTD, where he studied immigration, international development cooperation and social protection. Alberto graduated as a lawyer and works on projects for the protection of labor rights and social security for independent and self-employed workers.

Read Alberto’s full biography here.

Jamaladdin Ismayilov (Azerbaijan)

Secretary

Jamaladdn Ismayilov was born in the village of Slavyanka, Gadabay region of the Republic of Azerbaijan. After graduating from secondary school, he was accepted in the Kharkov Civil Engineering Institute, from which he successfully graduated in 1972 with a degree in construction engineer of industrial and civil facilities. He worked in the city of Uralsk in Kazakhstan, and during this time he advanced in his career from a  foreman to chief engineer to head of a construction department to an instructor and part of the city executive committee. Then in 1988, he moved to the city of Baku, Azerbaijan, where he have been working in a trade union since 1990. At present I am the vice-president of the Federation of Trade Unions of Azerbaijan Xhidmat-ISH. The Federation unites trade workers such as street and market vendors, and other service industries. It has always been a priority for Jamal to protect the social and labor interests of ordinary workers right up to litigation. Xhidmat-ISH has defended the interests of their union members in labor dispute litigation in more than thirty sessions and twice in the Supreme Court, and won all of  them. In addition, Xhidmat-ISH engaged in cooperation with local municipalities on the problems of creating worthy places of trade for street vendors in the region. They pay great attention to the promotion and awareness to the public about the problems of street vendors and the activities of StreetNet. Read Jamal’s full biography here.

Annie Diouf (Senegal)

Treasurer

Annie Diouf is the Confederal Secretary in charge of the informal economy department of the National Confederation of Workers of Senegal (CNTS). She is also the General Secretary of the National Union of Informal Economy Workers, Street and Market Vendors (SYNATREIN) and the coordinator for the Union for the Formalization of Informal Economy Workers (UFTEI). Annie is the contact person for WIEGO and StreetNet programmes within CNTS and current Tresurer of StreetNet International. Read Annie’s full biography here.

Angélique Kipulu Katani (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Member Auditor of the Executive Committee

Angélique Kipulu Katani is the leader of the Ligue pour les Droits de la Femme Congolaise -(LDFC) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a Member Auditor of the StreetNet Executive Committee and her. With a vast experience in the trade union movement, Angélique was responsible for the Women’s Department of the Trade Union Confederation of Congo (CS) in Kinshasa from 1994 to 2002. She was then elected Vice-President of the CSC, in charge of gender issues and finances. Angélique was also previously in the governing bodies of ITUC Africa.

During these 19 years in the trade union movement, Angélique participated in several trips, trainings, and conferences at the ILO, World Social Forum, United Nations Climate Change conference (COP), and meetings of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Since 2013, she has been fully devote to LDFC. Her main focus is violence against women and women informal economy workers. Angélique is divorced with three children, two girls and one boy. Read Angélique’s full biography here.

Jeanette Nyiramassengesho (Rwanda)

Member Auditor of the Executive Committee

Jeannette Jeanette Nyiramassengesho is a gender and informal economy advocate with over 12 years of experience in championing informal workers’ rights, mainly for women and girls. She is the founder of SYTRIECI, a Trade Union for Independent Workers in Informal Economy in Rwanda dedicated to the promotion and protection of Informal workers’ rights and living conditions. She also has a vibrant experience in financial issues management with 9 years of experience in exercising school financial management and audit in her Church parishes and Rwandan trade unions. She is currently the Chairperson of SYTRIECI, an affiliate of Street Net International in which she serves as International Council Member and the focal person of ATUMNET (African Trade Unions Migration Network) ITUC- Africa. She is the vice president of the Forum of Trade Unions in Rwanda.

Jeanette Nyiramassengesho is a holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences (Sociology) obtained from the school of social sciences at Kigali Independent University, Rwanda.  She has been trained and is experienced in Financial and Management issues, Conflict transformation and peer mediation, Negotiation Skills, Communication Skills, leadership skills, Counselling, and Psychotherapy skills. With a leadership working experience of more than 13 years, she has been attending various big conferences and meetings at national and international levels. She speaks four languages: French, English, Swahili, and Kinyarwanda.  Lastly, Jeannette is a friendly person, team & hardworking, self-motivated woman who adapts rapidly to a situation and is much interested in giving advice to others and assisting them.

Aaron Aiah Boima (Sierra Leone)

Member of International Council

Aaron Boima is the current National General Secretary of the Sierra Leone Traders Union (SLeTU), of which he was a co-founder in 2004 along with other associations of traders. He is also the Coordinator for Informal Economy Workers of the Sierra Leone Labour Congress (SLLC). Aaron is a passionate advocate defending and organizing the unorganized. He is a trade unionist, from the Eastern Province, living in Kono Koidu City in Sierra Leone. He is a member of the StreetNet International Council and also serves as a member of the Human Resources Committee of the organization.

Afiavi Anastasie Chodaton (Benin)

Member of International Council

Anastasie Chodaton is the Acting General Secretary of am Acting  of Streetet affiliate Syndicat National des Vendeurs, Vendeuses et Assimilés des Marchés du Bénin (SYNAVAMAB) and she is a member of the International Council of Streetnet.

She also the current representative of market vendors sitting on the Board of Directors of Société de Gestion des Marchés Autonomes SOGEMA, and President of the Association des vendeuses Unies pour le Développement.

Within her work with these organizations, she carries out awareness-raising activities, actions for the fight for the rights of informal economy workers within markets in her country. They work upstream with the government for a good organization of the markets.

Gabriela Calandria (Uruguay)

Member of International Council

Gabriela Calandria Álvarez belongs to the international council of Streetnet for two terms. She has been a member of the Wiego board since 2018 (representing workers).

She is a member of the board of AFFE (Asociación de Feriantes de Ferias Especiales) Uruguay – Montevideo, and was a founder of this association in 1991. Social leader, member of the social security commission in 1996 for the creation of the monotax for self-employed workers (BPS) .

A worker for gender equality rights, she has been in different feminist organizations in Uruguay, she is a social activist who never received income from her social and union work more than the satisfaction of contributing something to have a more just society. Her job is at the fair as a seller from 1990 to the present and her only income.

José Herminio Diaz Guevara (El Salvador)

Member of International Council

José Hermínio Diaz Guevara has been working in the informal economy since he was ten years old, particularly as a street vendor. He joined the organization FESTIVES when he was 17 years old as Youth Secretary. He stayed in that position for a long period. He then became Finance Secretary and is now the General Secretary of the organization. He has been a part of several associations of informal economy workers and he is a member of the StreetNet International Council at the international level.

Kenwilliams Mhango (Malawi)

Member of International Council

Kenwilliams Mhango is the current President of the Malawi Union for Informal Sector. He is also the Country Director of the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect. Previously, he worked as a Human Resources manager, as leader of the Malawi Congress of Trades Union and Southern Africa Trade Union Council (SATUC), and also served as Special advisor to the State Republican President, on Labor and Social Protection issues.

He holds a Bachelor degree in International Relations of the University of Zambia and a Advance diploma in human resource management and development of the National Institute of Public Administration.

He has over 10 years of experience improving the socio-economic and political position of the marginalized, especially vulnerable workers, and was a Privatization Commissioner for 10 years. Chairman of the Malawi Wages Advisory Council for 10 years. Member of the Governing Council of the ILO for 11 years. Founder of the Malawi Union for Informal Sector in 1998.

He served as a Board Member for HRCC, Media AIDS and Heath Watch (Mawa, a health rights grouping of Malawian online (new media), print, and electronic media journalists and practitioners) and Lifeline Southern Africa, among others.

Kenwilliams is dedicated to the community and his belief is that innovative development processes are critical to the development of poor and historically marginalized communities. His contribution is to effectively and efficiently bring sustainable improvements to the living standards of the people of Malawi, especially children, youth and women through self-help projects based on their priorities, needs and capabilities and other activities aimed at alleviating their poverty.

In 2011, he received Malawi’s ‘Top Human Rights Defender’ Award from the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC, a grouping of 97 Malawian human rights NGOs working in the area of human rights, good governance and social emancipation. In 2011, he received an award from the French Government for Human Rights Defenders. In 2012, he received the third award, from the Mayor of Roma on how best to use IT.

Iryna Yaskevich (Belarus)

Member of International Council

Iryna Yaskevich was born on January 17, 1963 in the city Starye Dorohi, Minsk region, Belarus. She has graduated from Minsk Technological College with the specialization “Designer of female garments “. Since 1996 she becomes an entrepreneur (self-employed). In 1998 Iryna becomes a Chairperson of the Council of Entrepreneurs at a small market “Yuzhny”. In 2008 she was elected as a Chairperson of the Board of Entrepreneurs at one of the largest shopping center in Vitebsk called “Evikom”. Since 2005 the process of registering the Belarusian independent trade union “Together” has been going on. Until now, three constituent congresses of the union had taken place. In order to defend their right to an independent trade union there were three trials held in the Supreme Court and three times the registration of the union has been refused. Iryna has participated and initiated more than 12 strikes not only in the city of Vitebsk, but also in the city of Minsk, one of which lasted about 3 months. In the result of taking part in strikes in 2003, she was included in the working group in the Ministry of Economy. In 2017 she has registered the Entrepreneurship Support Center. Iryna devoted more than 20 years to the protection of entrepreneurs’ rights. She has two children and a granddaughter.

Kadiatou Barry (Guinea)

Member of International Council

Barry Kadiatou is from Guinea. She graduated from Gamal Abdel Nasser University in Conakry, with a Masters in Biochemistry. Barry worked as Section Chief of the Biological Research Laboratory of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture; Coordinator of the CAP and CAPE fishing companies in Conakry; Head of Training Section at the Human Resources Division of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Director of the Kénien Refrigeration Center.

As a trade unionist, Barry is a member of the trade union section of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Federation of Professional Trade Unions for Rural Development (FSPDR). She is also a member of the Executive Board of the National Confederation of Guinean Workers (2nd Secretary of the Cooperatives, Mutuals and Informal Department) Deputy Coordinator of the WSM / CNTG Union Cooperation Program, and member of the StreetNet International Council. Barry also has additional training on mutuals and cooperatives in Guinea and has followed trainers’ training in Atlanta (USA) and Paris (France) and participated in an exchange of experiences in Algiers on gender equality and Social Dialogue in Africa