A local Ann Arbor man, Gabriel Buzguta, wants to make a change for children in hospitals in the country of Romania.

On a family trip to Romania in 2016, Buzguta’s 2 youngest girls became very ill and had to be taken to the children’s hospital immediately. The girls were placed in the same room, because in Romania there are no private rooms, nor do they section the patient rooms by disease and the level of contagiousness. There is a very high risk that you or your child will be placed with someone who may worsen your condition.

Buzguta stayed with the girls and their raising fevers for a couple of days, in the heat of July, with not a single air conditioner in site. Heat only increases the chance of bacteria and disease to spread, especially in confined places.

Buzguta asked the nurses there for a fan of some sorts, but the Romanian health care system is so corrupt that the nurses will not take care of their patients unless you bring them something extra on top of everything else your paying for minimal care.

Thus, Buzguta went out into the city and bought a small fan for his girls to share. His girls eventually became well again, after some time.

But this experience really spoke to Buzguta’s heart and he carried it all the way back home and it stirred within him for about a year. “I knew that there was a definite need in those hospitals, and I wanted to do something to help — especially since I was in that exact situation and saw it with my own eyes,” Buzguta said.

“The Lord inspired the idea” of placing air conditioning units in the hospital, especially since Buzguta works in heating and cooling.

Buzguta sang with a Christian band, as their lead singer, starting from the early 90s all the way to the early 2000s. He decided to use his gift as a means to help.

He got to work immediately and collaborated with some friends and a record agency to create a CD that would help fund his mission. Once finished in 2018, he began touring to various churches spreading the news of his mission through words and song. Any and all contributions toward the CD went straight to the purchase of AC units and other supplies.

After finishing his tour in the United States, Buzguta traveled towards the city of Oradea, 10 minutes away from the Hungarian bored, and began to promote there.

He continues to promote, still accepting donations, as he has begun installing the AC units around various hospitals.

When his work is finished, he plans to return and give a presentation on the work that they have done. “With God’s inspiration and those who donated, this is all possible, we can make a difference,” Buzguta said.

Below is a audio recording of Buzguta singing with a group in a local church.

https://drive.google.com/openid=0B3eBfU6uTVi2bXZaeU1ITEZoMUQ2bERWWXZXZGxpT21wSVNr

For more information, or if you would like to donate to the cause, please email saraj1903@gmail.com.

I read the article In Search of Best Practices for Journalistic Crowdsourcing and checked out Grasswire and Google News Lab. Overall, I found it very informative, especially since I wasn’t very advanced in my knowledge about Crowdsurfing.

Crowdsurfing is an act of using the crowd to help complete a task, demonstrate expertise, or share opinions — which has created a buzz in the media and technology world! Specifically for journalism, crowdsurfing is when you specifically invite a certain group of people to participate in a reporting task ( i.e. personal experience, documents, and data collection).

But, for the most part, people need (or rather want) some type of incentive so they can be motivated (for example, money, personal interest, demonstration of expertise).

Part of the crowdsurfing method is something called “the Callout Method”. Basically, it is somethings that is intended to engage a certain audience — such as a website, word of mouth, radio, and such forth.

Grasswire is a good new source and Google News Lab is similar, but they are both mainly connected to crowdsurfing. I look forward to learning more about crowdsurfing and incorporating it in my writing!

Acts of kindness, valor, and compassion have always held a special place in my heart. So when hearing about a 10-year-old Florida boy and his combination of all three, my heart was deeply moved. Zechariah Cartledge has made it his own personal mission to support police officers and fallen heros. How? He has committed to running one mile for every fallen hero, and donating a dollar for every mile as well.  

“I really just wanted to honor police officers because they do so much for us in the community and the hate that they’re getting is just really unacceptable because they do so much for us and when I hear an officer pass away it just breaks my heart,” Zechariah stated.

Zechariah’s goal was to raise $100 for every fallen officer, with a grand total of $15,000, but instead, he raised over $20,000 as of Monday, March 4. When hearing of this boys fierce determination, I was almost moved to tears that one so young could feel such conviction. Even if his parents or a mentor gave him the idea, he still had the motivation and the tenacity to continue strong.