Our vendors: Cyril Mylambiso (The Big Issue South Africa, Cape Town)

When Cyril Mylambiso started selling The Big Issue South Africa in Cape Town four years ago, he had lost his job, separated from his girlfriend and felt like a failure because he couldn’t support his two children. 

Today, as he stands on the streets of Cape Town in his blue vendor bib, which states his main goal is to support his family, Cyril is proud proud to have held down a job for so long.

He explains how The Big Issue South Africa is helping him find better work opportunities and the confidence to rebuild his relationship with his children.

“I’ve been a Big Issue vendor for four years. It hasn’t been easy for me, because I could never hold down a job for too long. I don’t have many skills, so the jobs that I apply for are often contract positions, which eventually come to an end.

“When I lost my last gig, it really hit me hard. My girlfriend and I decided to part ways around the same time and I felt like a failure because I couldn’t support my two children, who were very young at the time. A friend from my neighbourhood told me about The Big Issue and I decided to give it a go.

“It feels good that I have been able to stay in one place for so long. Some people may think that selling the magazine is not a real job, but to me it is. 

“For the first time in my life I have been able to hold down a job. It has restored my confidence. I am dedicated to selling out each month. I make up to R250 a day – sometimes even more. I love selling the magazine and I am so happy to be the Vendor of the Month.

 “Right now I am not in a hurry to move on because I have been so happy, but I know that sooner or later I will have to move on to something better. The Big Issue is a hand up, not a hand out, so for my children I will have to seek employment where I can earn more.

“My advice to new vendors would be to make use of all the opportunities that The Big Issue offers. Right now, I am focused on improving sales but my goal for the year is to work on getting a new job.”

This is a summary of an article from The Big Issue South Africa made available to street papers in our network via the INSP News Service here.

INSP Awards Shortlist Announced

The finalists for the INSP Awards 2015 have been revealed, ahead of the awards ceremony in Seattle on 25 June.

The INSP Awards have been recognising excellence in street papers since 2008.

For the first time this year, the awards feature five ‘Impact’ categories, which celebrate the range of additional work that street paper organisations do, beyond the papers themselves.

Judges agreed that the standard of work was exceptional, and all commented on how much they had enjoyed reading the entries for all categories.

After judging the Impact categories, writer, communications strategist & entrepreneur Candace Faber, said: “I'm so impressed by every effort represented here and inspired by what the street papers are doing in their communities around the world. What an honour.”

Richard Walker, editor of The National and The Sunday Herald, said of the stories: “Overall, a really high standard and some unexpected topics which made you look at some subjects in a whole new way.”

The winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Seattle on 25 June, as part of INSPired Together: Global Street Paper Summit. 

If you'd like to hear more about the work of street papers, sign up for the INSP news round up here.

INSP AWARDS 2015 FINALISTS

Best News Feature

• The Contributor, USA
  Finding forgiveness on death row By Amanda Haggard
• The Big Issue South Africa
  What’s wrong with crime scene investigation in South Africa? By Damien Schumann
• Hinz&Kunzt, Germany
  Milano Centrale: a resting stop for refugees By Jonas Füllner
• Sorgenfri, Norway
  The Heroines By Trond Ola Tilseth
• Street Roots, USA
  American police arrest homeless woman for charging phone By Emily Green

Best Cultural Feature

• Megaphone, Canada
  “The cure for blindness is telling it” By Austin Chisholm
• The Curbside Chronicle, USA
  Wayne Coyne: Home is Weird You Are By T.O. Bowman
• The Big Issue, UK
  Sir David Attenborough: 88 and still flying high By Sylvia Patterson
• The Big Issue Australia
  Saudi Arabia’s first female filmmaker By Rebecca Harkins-Cross
• Real Change, USA
  Cardboard canvas By Hart Hornor

Best Cover

• The Big Issue South Africa
• The Curbside Chronicle, USA
• The Big Issue Taiwan
• Megafon, Norway
• LiceuLice, Serbia
• Sorgenfri, Norway

Best Photo

• Megafon, Norway
  Photo by Ingvild Festervoll Melien
• Shedia, Greece
  Photo by Matina Paschalis
• The Curbside Chronicle, USA
  Photo by Joshua Officer
• =Norge, Norway
  Photo by Dimitri Koutsomytis
• The Big Issue South Africa
  Photo by Juhan Kuus

Best Design

• The Curbside Chronicle, USA
• LiceuLice, Serbia
• Mi Valedor, Mexico
• Speak Up, USA
• The Big Issue Taiwan

Best Vendor Contribution

• The Big Issue Australia
  STUFFED By Wayne
• Megafon
  “Dear Mum and Dad” By Ida
• The Contributor
  Dinner with my Son By Jennifer Alexander
• Denver Voice
  Random Life Particles By Barbara Bartlett
• Speak Up
  Hope Dead Winter By Dustin LaPres

Best Non-Street Paper Project

• Nota Bene, Slovakia
  Homeless Luggage Porters
• CAIS, Portugal
  CAIS Recicla
• Street Sense, USA
  Cinema from the Street
• The Big Issue Australia
  The Big Issue Classroom
• Apropos, Austria
  Yoga for Vendors and Readers

Best Online Presence

• Megaphone, Canada
• Street Roots, USA
• The Big Issue, UK
• The Big Issue Taiwan
• Hinz&Kunzt, Germany

Best Technology Innovation

• Shedia, Greece
• Megaphone, Canada
• The Big Issue South Africa

Best Breakthrough

• Bodo, Germany
• Street Roots, USA
• The Contributor, USA
• Hus Forbi, Denmark
• Toledo Streets, USA

Best Campaign

• Hinz&Kunzt, Germany
  Victory for Bottle Collectors
• Megaphone, Canada
  Dying on the Streets: Homeless Deaths Report and Campaign
• Real Change, USA
  OutsideIN
• The Big Issue, UK
  The Vendorendum
• The Contributor, USA
  #WrapUp2014

Celebrating ten years of =Oslo

Norwegian street paper =Oslo is celebrating ten years in print this month with a very special birthday edition.

Norway's very first street paper went to press in the summer of 2005 and sold 70,000 copies. It now supports around 200 vendors in 15 different cities and towns across the country, including Oslo.

The latest, 100-page edition (on sale since Monday, 1 June) features all 113 =Olso covers from the past decade to visually explore its editorial evolution.

The issue also features the street paper's vendors and readers. This month's cover star is Mona, a grandmother and happy =Oslo customer, photographed by Haakon Hoseth in the street paper's very own studio.

So Happy Birthday =Oslo, here's to another incredible
ten years!