Doctor Cynthia

   (Cynthia Maung, 1959- )

   A physician who has earned international recognition for her medical work along the Thai-Burma border. Born into a Karen (Kayin) family in Moulmein (Mawlamyine), she attended medical school in Rangoon (Yangon) and after graduating worked in a hospital in Rangoon's North Okkalapa Township, where she witnessed Tatmadaw shootings of demonstrators in 1988. She then went to the border and established a clinic near Mae Sot-Myawaddy, which cares for an estimated 30,000 patients a year, mostly refugees and Burmese workers resident in the area. She has also started a "backpack medics" course to bring basic medical care to remote villages inside Burma. In 2002, Dr. Cynthia won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.