Who We Are

Vaga Lume is a social organization dedicated to building libraries in rural communities across the Brazilian Legal Amazon, ensuring every child has the right to access the power of reading.

The organization provides books and furniture, fosters community-driven management of the spaces, celebrates local culture, facilitates cultural exchanges between young people from the Amazon and other regions, and trains reading mediators—volunteers who bring stories to life for children, connecting them to the world of books and cultivating lifelong reading habits.

We operate 95 community libraries spread over 22 municipalities in the nine states that constitute the Brazilian Legal Amazon. Since 2001, we have donated more than 163,000 books, trained over 5,000 reading mediators, and reached more than 109,000 children and young people.

In 2022, we were named the Best Education NGO in Brazil for the third time by Instituto Doar (2018, 2022, and 2023). We’ve won the Jabuti Prize twice, received the United Earth Amazônia Award in the ESG category in 2023, and have been recognized by the UN and the European Union.

  • More than 110,592 children and young people impacted since 2001
  • 177,858 books donated
  • 808 active volunteers in the Brazilian Legal Amazon
  • 5,074 teenagers have participated in the cultural exchange
  • More than 5,000 reading mediators trained
  • 27 Meetings and Congresses held with the volunteer network.

Our Purpose

To empower children and young people from rural communities in the Amazon through the promotion of reading and the management of community libraries as spaces for sharing knowledge.

Our Values

  • Respect as a core principle An unwavering commitment to respect and ethics in our relationships with people, territories, and resources.
  • Connections that strengthen us Promotion of collaboration and a sense of community, sharing knowledge and lessons to strengthen our collective bonds.
  • Care that nurtures Genuinely care for people to nurture our network of care. Foster each other's growth through listening and dialogue.
  • Excellence that guides us Always pushing ourselves to do better every day, without letting the pursuit of excellence slow us down. It’s about investing in quality to serve our mission.

Where We Operate

We operate in the 9 states that comprise the Brazilian Legal Amazon. Explore the map to find the locations of our libraries.