Kantha Bopha Hospital in Cambodia | Dr Beat Richner | Cambodian Hero | Bettocello

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• published: 30 Oct 2014
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Beat Richner BettoCello Kantha Bopha Hospital in Cambodia Khmer's Hero Dr. Beat Richner (born March 13, 1947) is a Swiss pediatrician, cellist (Beatocello), and founder of children's hospitals in Cambodia. He is the head of the Kantha Bopha Foundation, which was founded in Zurich in 1991 and is currently one of two expatriates who oversee and run the predominantly Cambodian employed hospitals. As both a cellist and a medical doctor, Dr. Beat Richner is known by both patients, audiences, and donors as "Beatocello. After receiving his medical degree in 1973, Dr. Beat Richner specialized in pediatric care at the Zurich Children's Hospital. Following this, Richner, working for the Swiss Red Cross, was sent to Cambodia where he worked at the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital in Phnom Penh in 1974 and 1975. The hospital is named in memory of HRH Samdach Preah Ang Mechas Norodom Kantha Bopha (1948–1952), who was the daughter of King Norodom Sihanouk and died at a very young age. When the Khmer Rouge overran Cambodia, he was forced to return to Switzerland where he continued his work at the Zurich Children's Hospital.[2] In the process of pursuing his medical career and an interest in music and entertainment, Dr. Richner developed the character of "Beatocello", an artistic and comedic clown who played the cello. Along with this persona, Richner also published many children's books based on "Beatocello".[2] In December 1991, Richner returned to Cambodia and saw the devastation that had taken place following the ensuing conflicts with the Khmer Rouge and Vietnam. He was asked to re-open and re-build Kantha Bopha by the Cambodian government. Creating the Kantha Bopha Foundation in March 1992, Richner officially returned to Cambodia to begin reconstruction and Kantha Bopha was reopened in November 1992. Since then, the foundation has funded the expansion of Kantha Bopha Children's Hospitals to include five hospitals in total. For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_Richner