News - Marineland hosts "Floating Doctors"

Inspiration from a backpack

Dr. Ben La Brot and his crew are modern day pirates.  Their goal? To steal away helplessness, disease and suffering and to leave only hope and health in their wake.  Their vessel?  A donated 76 ft sailboat appropriately named “The Southern Wind.”  With the hard work, dedication and tireless efforts of her crew, “The Southern Wind” has been fully renovated and is at last ready to carry these doctors on their inspirational journey into remote areas of South America.
The mission of these 8 amazing individuals is to provide much needed healthcare wherever they can. By using a “green” mode of transportation, new technology and traditional medicine; the crew will focus on preventative medicine, “reducing the burden of disease” and leaving virtually no carbon footprint.
Where did the idea for this project come from?  As Dr. Benjamin La Brot travelled the world, he saw a need not being met by current health care systems.  With each trip, he swapped personal items from his backpack for crutial medical supplies.  “I have never been as happy as when I have been sitting under a tree with a backpack of medicine beside me, doing my best to help the people lining up for any kind of relief from what ails them.  There is a lot of talk about celebrating our differences, but disease and human suffering do not care about color or religion or politics; pain is the great common unifier of humanity and I believe healing should be the same.”   “The Southern Wind” and her crew provides Dr. La Brot  “A much bigger backpack over many thousands of miles; I promised myself I would come back to the developing world with more help, and now I finally have the chance to keep my promise.”
The healing isn’t a one way channel. The Floating Doctors crew  members were drawn to the project from many walks of life.  When asked, Dr. Ben says “As for what I and my team hope to accomplish personally, it is healing ourselves—nearly everyone here has had personal tragedy and I have found that there are two types of people in the world. People who spend a lot of time focusing on how bad they are feeling and there are others who in the midst of their pain, focus on extending themselves to help others—and in doing so, make themselves free. “
It won’t all be smooth sailing for this extraordinary group.  In addition to raising funds, renovating a sailboat and providing care, the crew must also live life on the high seas! Though this task seems large, the docs have insurmountable optimism. Aboard “The Southern Wind” ‘there are no problems, only solutions!’ says the crew.
Inspired by their story? Read more about them, donate and follow their journey on their website,  Facebook and Twitter.

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