A WOMAN who crossed half the world to take part in a public health campaign after losing her husband to cancer has been nominated for a community award.

Janet Brown, of West Mount Priory Road, Ulverston, travelled to Fiji last year as part of a programme run by her employer, GSK.

Speaking about her nomination, Mrs Brown was modest about her achievements.

She said: "I think that everyone else works just as hard as I do."

Mrs Brown has worked for GSK for 38 years after answering an advert placed in the Evening Mail.

It was at the factory in Ulverston that she met her future husband, Pete, who worked on the floor below hers.

They were married in 1990, with Mrs Brown describing it as an ideal life. She said: "It was ideal really, we both worked at GSK, it was an ideal job, it all fit together."

Sadly, her husband died two years ago after a long battle with cancer. It was this loss which pushed Mrs Brown to involve herself with the Pulse Partnership, a skills-based volunteer programme run by GSK.

Mrs Brown said: "I said I would go anywhere as long as I could work with children. I was applying because of Pete.

"Because of how everybody at the NHS, particularly those at the hospital, had dealt with us, I wanted to give something back."

In July 2015 Mrs Brown left for Fiji, ready to start her six-month placement nearly 10,000 miles from home.

She said: "It was a completely different world, opening your curtains in the morning to palm trees."

"I was assigned to the International Foundation of Dermatology as a project manager to establish the very first Fiji Albinism Project.

"The goal of this project is to improve the quality of lives of people with albinism by raising awareness around the needs of people with albinism across health, education and special needs sectors and also to increase public understanding and knowledge of albinism in Fiji."

During her stay she helped set up a registry of children born with albinism, and started a clinic for Fijians to learn about protecting their skin.

Mrs Brown said: "This assignment was a perfect emotional match for me, allowing me the opportunity of a lifetime to give something back in a unique way and be part of the change to make a difference to people’s lives.

"I had so many truly unique experiences which allowed me to integrate and become part of this wonderful country, it’s people and lifestyle.

"I will take these experiences forward to enhance my journey in life, which will in turn help me find the strength to travel on alone without my late much-loved husband and soulmate Pete."

Read more about the heart of Ulverston:

A dedicated group of volunteers has been protecting Cumbrians at sea for more than 10 years

One Ulverston teacher has been praised for her determination to help vulnerable children

An Ulverston landlord put his body through 1,6000 miles of hell for charity