On Saturday nights in Siem Reap, Cambodia, there’s a cello
concert of real note. It’s given by the remarkable Swiss doctor Beat Richner
who, over the past 23 years, has performed medical ‘miracles’ to benefit the
ordinary people of Cambodia. Over that time, 13 million outpatients have been
treated at the Kantha Bopha hospitals he established and runs, and 1.56 million
seriously ill children requiring hospitalisation have been cared for.
A considerable amount of the money required has come from
government, NGO and other donations. Some has, and does, come from Dr Richner’s
Beatocello performances on Saturday nights.
What an inspiring story. Dr Richner first came to Cambodia
as a young medico sent by the Swiss Red Cross in 1974/75. That visit came to a
swift halt when the Khmer Rouge took over. Dr Richner returned to work in
Zurich Children’s Hospital, and he also developed his Beatocello performances
as a poetic and musical entertainer.
In 1991, the Cambodian government invited Dr Richner to
return to Cambodia to rebuild and manage Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital. In
March 1992, he set up a foundation in Zurich to provide funding for this
project and moved to Phnom Penh. The Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital opened in
November 1992.
That was the first one. A second hospital opened in 1995,
and today there are five hospitals, including one in Siem Reap, opened as an
extension of the Jayavarman VII hospital. The needy of Cambodia – especially
children suffering diseases or who have stepped on a landmine – have a
wonderful champion and devoted carer in Dr Beat Richner. (It’s tragic to know
that there are still unexploded landmines in the country, often in remote
fields where children play!)
Much information about Dr Richner and his work is available
online and donations can be made via his website www.beat-richner.ch
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