Florin Bucuțea (24 years old) is certainly a source of inspiration for many young people. In love with Daișoara, a small village of about 800 inhabitants in Romania, where he was born, he did a lot of things, voluntarily, to promote and help the village. He organized cultural events, made a popular Facebook Page, filmed old people asking them about the traditions and the history of the area, organized theater and movie evenings, collected Christmas gifts for children in need. And, this year, because there wasn’t any library in the small village and he was convinced one would be more than helpful, he collected almost 5.000 books from donations, arranged a space and now both children from school and adults from the village can go there, read, borrow books and enjoy quality time in a place where, among the books, there’s a big part of his beautiful soul.
I admire so much people who do good things unconditionally, from heart, just to help and do good for the others. And Florin did so many – although he is very young! For the idyllic village of Daișoara, where he was born and where his parents live, Florin has a huge place in his heart. And did everything he could to promote it, help people and show everyone how beautiful that place is – a small piece of Heaven, where time stops in magnificent places, old houses and people’s hearts.
The beginning
In 2013, Florin, who is passionate about photography, started taking pictures in Daișoara with houses, roads, surroundings, magnificent views. Then put them on a Facebook Page – Daișoara – tradiții locale – and that was the beginning. People discovered the page, admired his work and shared it – and that was the way he was discovered by the Cultural Centre of Brasov, a city nearby. He was invited to make an exhibition at Bran Castle, and it was a wonderful event, with photos, traditional dances with young people from the village, traditional food. Other events followed.
Then he started walking through the village, talking to people. Interviews were filmed and put on the Facebook Page – people talked about the place and everything related to it, from traditions and history to agriculture, for instance. Old traditional costumes were photographed and promoted, old pictures were discovered and published, even old footage, at one point.
Theater and movie evenings, in the small village
And things did not stop here. On Ecology Day, 100 acacia seedlings were planted by the locals. Then, theater shows were organized in an old barn. “We had 180 persons, from small children to people of 70 years old”, Florin says. T-shirts with traditional Romanian sayings were made, and on Easter all the locals traditions were filmed step by step and put on the Facebook Page.
In the yard of the Cultural House romanian movie evenings were organized – like theater, this never happened in the small village before. “We had best known romanian movies, for three nights, and the audience was also various, from small children to elderly people”, Florin says.
Christmas gifts for children in need
On Christmas Eve, due to a wonderful support action organized by him, 180 children in need, from the village, got Christmas gifts. The donation campaign took place on Facebook Page, and people all over the country were deeply moved and sent gifts.
One day, he gathered children from school and kindergarten and angels smiled to him through their eyes. “I’ve never seen in my whole life happier children than those children, that day”, he says. He will do it again, this year – on the Facebook Page, the campaign already started.
Library for the small village
But maybe the biggest satisfaction until now is a heartfelt project that brought a lot of joy to the local community. The small village had no public library – and he knew one would be more than necessary and helpful. So he found a room in the Cultural House and started a donation campaign, with books.
The result was spectacular – more than he could ever imagine. From institutions to usual people, many responded to his request. Brasov County library donated 700 books, a doctor collected 600 books in the hospital where she was working, a school donated a trunk full of books, a state secretary from the Romanian Minister of Culture also donated books from him and the institution.
Almost 5.000 books were collected, in all. Shelves, printer and desktop were also got from donations. He worked a lot to beautifully arrange the space. When every book was at the right place and everything around looked warm and welcoming, the feeling could hardly be described. He was extremely grateful, and happy.
The library was opened this year, in October, with a beautiful concert, an opera singer and a symphonic group.
Home, with love
Florin is not going to stop his work of promoting Daișoara. He is always thinking what else he could do – every week-end he goes there, it will always be the most beautiful place on earth.
“The biggest part of my soul is there, wherever I go, It’s my place of peace, of heart. I always go there with a huge joy, it’s simply home”, Florin says.
You can find out more about Florin and his work, and support him, on his Facebook Page – HERE
PHOTOS FROM PERSONAL ARCHIVE
Do you know a very special person? Someone who has followed his dream, built it piece by piece, with passion, energy and lot of soul? An usual, simple person who did something in life, who you can identify with, who can be, for others, a source of inspiration? Tell me about that person and let’s tell the others his/her beautiful story. Write me at specialstories00@gmail.com, here, on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
