A Swiss doctor who brought hope to Cambodia

A charismatic Swiss doctor – and cellist – has been a key player in Cambodia’s recovery from years of war and terror, providing much needed health care for mothers and children. Beat Richner, also well known in Switzerland under his nickname of Beatocello, gives a concert every Thursday and Saturday evening in the Kantha Bopha hospital in the northwestern town of Siem Reap, close to the World Heritage site of Angkor Wat. “Health is the main reason why poor families become ruined. By providing completely free care our hospitals enable mothers to stay with their sick child, making it easier for them to get better,” he tells his audience, before picking up his bow and playing “The Song of the Birds”, made famous by Pablo Casals. The first Kantha Bopha hospital was established in Phnom Penh by the former king, Norodom Sihanouk, in 1962 after one of his daughters, Kantha Bopha, died of leukaemia. There are now six Kantha Bopha children’s hospitals and maternity clinics.