Provide Quality Education to 15000 Amazon Children

Dear supporter,

As you may know, one of the bases of Vaga Lume’s methodology is to train volunteers as reading mediators in rural communities of the Brazilian Legal Amazon region in the north of the country.

Last month, we decided to offer a similar course to people that live in Sao Paulo (southeast of Brazil) and are interested in our work in the Amazon. The event was called 1^st Reading Mediation Training in Sao Paulo, and it was held in Vaga Lume's headquarters, counting with 22 participants.

During two days, the training presented to the participants the methodology of reading mediation, which is the same used in the community libraries in the Brazilian Amazon. "Offering a course on reading mediation in our headquarters is an old dream. Many people were interest to know how do we manage to bring people closer to books and reading, and in this occasion we were able to show them", celebrates the Vaga Lume educator Marcia. Besides, she said, "this event was important to show people how simple and efficient our methodology is, and, moreover, to foster reading habits in the city of Sao Paulo as well".

One of the participants, Thais, highlighted the diversity of the group: "I met people from all ages, states and life stories, what have enriched the discussions, because we could access different points of view and perspectives about the same subject". She also said that she was surprised to see what reading mediation is about: "I arrived into the course wondering if we were going to learn sounds or artistic abilities to interpret book characters, but actually I have learned that it is not about that, but to have enthusiasm and energy to put children – or whosoever – in touch with books and reading in a very simple (but not simplistic) way. I was amazed by the technique!"

It was a very successful training. Vaga Lume staff considers that putting more people in touch with our methodology is one of the ways to spread reading habits and to show our partners (and the general public) the importance of our work in rural communities in the Amazon.

As always, we have only managed to accomplish the 1^st Reading Mediation Training in Sao Paulo with your support, and that is why we are here to thank you and to encourage you to keep following Vaga Lume's work. You are a big part of it!

If you want to know more about and to engage in Vaga Lume’s events, please visit our website (www.vagalume.org.br/home)!

Best regards,

Vaga Lume Team

Links:

• Vaga Lume's website
• Vaga Lume's youtube channel

Dear supporter,

In 2013, the Vaga Lume Team wrote a Report about the quilombola communities where Vaga Lume has established 19 community libraries since 2001. Quilombola people are descendants of slaves who escaped Brazil's plantations and fled deep into the Amazon rainforest for security and protection. In order to discuss with Vaga Lume's volunteers how to use books as well as reading and writing skills to empower quilombola people, Vaga Lume used some of the resources raised with your help in GlobalGiving to mobilize volunteers to take part in an event during four days, the so called "Encontro Bibliotecas Vaga Lume em Comunidades Quilombolas", Portuguese for Meeting of Vaga Lume's Libraries in Quilombola Communities.

That was the first time that Vaga Lume hold a big training event at one of the rural communities that it has been working at. It took place at the Reserva Extrativista Quilombo Frechal (more often called 'Frechal'), in the community of Mirinzal (MA) - as you can see at the map above. This community was chosen because its historical relevance, since it is one of the most important quilombos in Brazil. The community supported the event and some residents formed the cleaning staff and helped to prepare meals for all participants.

Hosting the meeting at Frechal brought positive impacts, such as increasing the local economy and benefits for the big house – by buying cutlery and kitchen utensils. Another positive mark was the integration of the community in the activities, such as the reading mediation session that was provided to children of the municipal school of Frechal.

The meeting gathered 45 people from 19 different communities of the Amazon. The public consisted of participants that were already Vaga Lume’s volunteers and others that hadn't participated of any reading mediation training before..

Based on the nurturing question: "how does the network of libraries in quilombola communities can contribute to the strengthening and appreciation of the identity and local culture of your communities?", the event started inviting participants to think about possibilities of actions that could be implemented during the meeting and after that.

The event counted with the participation of the Master Degree Kiusam de Oliveira, which addressed issues related to afro-Brazilian identity and its representation in books and academy; which leaded the participants to think critically about representation, positioning and language issues.

In every lecture and workshop, the participants had been building a line of thought, which helped them to discuss belonging and identity throughout the event and thus to strengthen themselves as a group and leaders who will pass on the knowledge to their communities.

The testimonials were really positive! Mr. Luziano, from the community of Murumuru in Macapá (AP) affirmed: "we came here today to take a seed that will be planted when we get back to our communities". For Ms. Rafisa, from the community of Cantinho in Barreirinhas (MA), the highlights of the meeting were the interaction with the people from Frechal – that held the event – and the appreciation of the heritage.

During the event were produced nine handmade books that are, indeed, full of quilombola characteristics and show the history of fight and resistance still strong in the hearts and minds of these people. It was also signed a document as a collective agreement between the participating community libraries and Vaga Lume, in which all municipalities listed its actions and commitments for the future.

Aiming to celebrate the four days of deep exchanges, the graduation of the participants was followed by a party that valued the dance, poetry and culture of each community.

After this very powerful event, we would like to thank you, our donor, for supporting all Vaga Lume's projects within the Expedition Program in order to value the importance of access to books and reading in rural Amazon as well as their diverse cultural expressions, such as the quilombolas.

If you want to know more about Vaga Lume’s stories, please visit our website: http://www.vagalume.org.br/home

Best regards,

Vaga Lume Team

Links:

• Vaga Lume's website