Beatocello - A thought before the glitters of Christmas

When visiting Siem Reap, I strongly recommend attending the concert of Beatocello at the Jayavarman VII Children’s hospital. Concerts are held every Saturday evening by Dr Beat Richner in support of the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospitals. Entrance is free but donations are welcome. Dr Beat Richner in turn plays cello and describes the work of the children hospitals in the country, with a short film (in French with English subtitles) to illustrate their activities.

Dr Beat Richner was first sent to Cambodia in 1974 by the Red Cross to work at the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital in Phnom Penh. His mission was curtailed as the Khmer Rouge invaded the country. In 1991, he was requested by the new government to rebuild and manage the hospital, which had been destroyed during the civil war. He accepted the job and since, it has been a success story. There are now 4 Kantha Bopha hospitals in Cambodia where all children till 18 year of age are treated free of charge as well as one maternity ward for HIV positive mothers. From 1993 until 2008 the Kantha Bopha hospitals treated 8,2 mio outpatients, 650'000 inpatients and did 90'000 chirurgical operations. It is estimated that 550'000 children would not have survived without those hospitals. In the process, 2’600 Cambodian have been trained as doctors and nurses. All staff from cleaner to doctor receive a decent salary for the country to avoid the corruption that is rampant in the government hospitals (additional under the table payments are requested by doctors to secure treatment as base salaries are mediocre - in a country where the average population is just too poor to afford any treatments, the result is that farmers used to sell all their assets, being ox, land, to have their children treated, to return to total absolute poverty with no mean of subsistence).

The yearly operational costs of the Kantha Bopha hospitals amount to USD 24mio. Currently, USD 2mio per annum are contributed by the Cambodian government, USD 2.5 mio by the Swiss government and the balance by private donations.

I salute the work of Dr Richner, a great man.

For more information on Kantha Bopha, click on the following link: http://www.beat-richner.ch/Assets/richner_present.html