The concept of peace is so broad and abstract that you might be forgiven for never giving it a second thought.

At the YMCA of Greater Moncton however, they've brought the notion of peace down to the level of the individual - or perhaps more accurately, to each individual act.

Peace Week, celebrated by the Y across Canada, recognizes those acts that breed peace, particularly by individuals who commit acts of peace without fanfare, without special tools or support, who just do it.

Those types of acts were celebrated at yesterday's YMCA of Greater Moncton Peace Breakfast where Peace Medal recipients Pam and Terry Chase, and seven-year-old Catherine Desjardins were honoured.

The Chases adopted eight children, all of whom have special needs and are home schooled before entering the mainstream school system.

"We were very surprised, to say the very least," Pam said of the award.

The Chases' faith has been their foundation as they face life's challenges, she said. And there are certainly challenges, but also many triumphs, she noted.

"There were a lot of joys, and it's worth every minute of it, and yes there's been lots of down times too. Every day is absolutely something new."

The Chases don't feel they are doing anything special and point out that lots of Metro Moncton families adopt children with special needs, so they accepted the award on behalf of all those families.

"We might not have borne those children, but they were born in our hearts," she said.

Catherine Desjardins was honoured for giving back to her community despite her tender years, inspired by her own tale of survival.

When she was born, she weighed less than a kilogram - about one pound and one-half - and could fit in the palm of her mother's hand. And mom Isabelle's health was in jeopardy from the difficult birth as well. Catherine was so small, her grandfather's wedding ring was slid up her arm, and promptly fell off because her arm was too tiny.

But the experts at The Moncton Hospital Neonatal Unit managed to save them both and that's something that Catherine never forgot.

She raised more than $6,500 for the unit and wrote (and illustrated) a book about her shaky start to life - adding to her previous efforts to give back to her community by collecting books for day cares in the region, which she distributed herself.

"To her, it's not an achievement at all," mom Isabelle said.

"It's just natural to her to give back."

YMCA CEO Zane Korytko said that's a common theme that runs through most peace medal honourees; it's not something they think about but rather it's a natural instinct to think of others first.

"Without asking, without being prodded or pushed, they just give back."

Keynote speaker Dr. John Li recounted how he ended up in Haiti after a devastating earthquake flattened much of that country, ministering to the sick amid unimaginable conditions. Yet he feels lucky to have had the chance.

"I was actually blessed by the experience," the Moncton family physician said.

"It brought me back to where I came from originally, and I was grateful for the experience."

Li was brought up in the cardboard shanty towns of Hong Kong, son of a single mother with seven other children, who became a success through his mother's efforts, his great faith and by way of his own determination.

Korytko described both peace medal recipients as inspirational.

The first peace medals were awarded in 1984 and each year they are bestowed upon "individuals or groups in local communities who, without any special resources, demonstrate in their lives and activities the values expressed in the World Alliance of YMCAs 1981 statement on peace."

The concept is simple, Korytko explained: each of us is responsible for making peace; it is not only a relationship among nations but between each of us and those who are close to us, even those who differ from us.

By James Foster, Times & Transcript Moncton NB.