Port Perry doctor receives YMCA Peace Medallion

DURHAM -- Most of the time, Dr. Anthony Brown can be found treating patients from the comfort of his family practice in Port Perry or under the operating room lights where he works as an anesthetist.

But one or two weeks a year, this local doctor steps into a completely different world where hundreds of patients are treated over the course of a single day, supplies are basic and the sweltering heat hits 35 degrees.

Dr. Brown is the medical director for FTC (Feed the Children) Canada, a non-profit relief group that brings food, medicine and education to children and families in the developing world.

He has spent the past two years assembling teams of doctors, nurses, dentists, paramedics and pharmacists for one-week trips to Central American countries including Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. He just returned from the latter three weeks ago and is already gearing up for a trip to El Salvador in April 2009.

"Mission work is one of my passions. It's something my dad did, so I think it's in my blood," Dr. Brown said. "Up here, if someone needs to go to a family doctor, they just go. Down there, you can't do that unless you have a lot of money. That's why these trips are so important."

The satisfaction of a job well done is its own reward but now Dr. Brown has something a little more tangible to show for his efforts.

On Thursday night, the Port Perry resident was honoured as Durham Region's YMCA Peace Medallion recipient.

YMCA locations across Canada award the medallion to one person in their community each year as part of YMCA World Peace Week, which takes place from Nov. 15-22 this year.

The medallion recognizes volunteers who work to find peaceful solutions to violence, conflict, discrimination and injustice and who enhance the lives of people in their community by creating a more peaceful environment.

"I generally like to fly under the radar, I don't like a lot of attention," Dr. Brown said, of his win. "But I'm quite honoured to have won."â?¨ While he's only been working with FTC Canada for about two years, the doctor's love of mission work goes back more than 20 years, when as a recent medical school graduate he spent three months working in the remote mountains of Kenya.

The demands of work and a growing family saw him take a break from world travel, but now that his three daughters are growing up, Dr. Brown said the timing is right.

Preparing for a trip is an involved process that sees the doctor assemble a team of professionals -- many of whom are his colleagues from Port Perry -- and scope out potential sites, such as schools, that can be used as makeshift clinics when the team arrives.

The FTC then has to fundraise enough money to cover the costs of medications and other supplies, while the doctors and other volunteers need to come up with their own travel costs -- usually about $2,000 per person.

Once the team arrives at its destination, Dr. Brown said they waste no time, working from dawn until dusk, five out of the seven days of each trip.

"We see children with parasite infections from drinking water and walking in the mud in bare feet, we test people's blood pressure and sugar levels, we do most of the things your doctor would do," he said. "It's very intense but very rewarding."

This year marks the 21st anniversary of the YMCA Peace Medallion. Since 1987, 900 people and groups have received the award. YMCA World Peace Week activities are taking place at YMCA locations across the GTA until this Saturday.

For more information on YMCA Peace Week, visit www.ymcagta.org. To learn more about FTC Canada, visit www.feedthechildren.org.