Starting in October 2026, medical student Philip will be joining our team in Siem Reap. And medical student Marina will be working in Phnom Penh. They’ll introduce themselves here in a moment. Marina Holdener Costa, 24, Chur GR When I was a child, I visited pediatricians and went to the hospital quite often. Unfortunately, the experiences I remember were anything but positive. That’s why I was very afraid of doctors for years, and as a teenager, I never would have thought tha

Physical therapists Denise Etzweiler and Lisa Brown specialize in treating children in the neonatal unit and the intensive care unit. During a two-week training session, the Swiss therapists shared their knowledge and skills with our Cambodian colleagues.

Pediatric Surgeon in Phnom Penh

It happened out of the blue. No fall, no accident. Twelve-year-old Heng Maylinh complained of excruciating headaches, vomited several times, and collapsed unconscious. “I was so scared and felt completely lost,” recalls her mother, Por Sotan, thinking back on those dramatic hours in the intensive care unit at our children’s hospital in Siem Reap. The diagnosis revealed that her daughter had a congenital vascular malformation in her brain that had ruptured, causing a life-thre

The number of cases of the dangerous dengue fever rose by nearly 50 percent in 2026 compared to the previous year. Children, in particular, bear the brunt of this wave of infection and account for a large proportion of severe cases. At the Kantha Bopha hospitals in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap alone, over 24,000 dengue patients were treated between January and August, including more than 1,000 children suffering from life-threatening dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Training Campaign

I was able to spend a month at the Jayavarman VII Maternity Hospital in Siem Reap. Women from distant provinces come to us every day to give birth here. Just as in other Kantha Bopha hospitals, care related to pregnancy and childbirth is free of charge. The obstetrics teams work around the clock here. Over 50 births every day. That’s a number I could hardly have imagined before my internship, since until then I’d only been familiar with obstetric care in Swiss hospitals. On m

Starting in September 2026, Bénédicte will be joining our team in Cambodia. The medical student will be working at our children's hospital in Siem Reap for two months. She'll introduce herself here. Bénédicte Masa, 25, Sion VS I decided to study medicine because, first and foremost, I wanted to combine my interest in the natural sciences with a career in the social sector. Getting to the bottom of the human body’s complexity while at the same time being able to help people wa

August is starting a little differently for us this year. Instead of a leisurely brunch or a fireworks show on August 1, we’re traveling to a country that’s still completely unknown to us. After about 20 hours of travel, we land in a new climate, a new city, and a new culture. We’re surrounded by new smells, sounds, and animals that we rarely encounter in Switzerland: little bats, little monkeys! We’ve arrived in Phnom Penh! After a warm welcome from hospital director Santi a

I’m sitting in the back seat of a friend’s car as we drive together to the hospital at 6:30 in the morning. She also works at Kantha Bopha Hospital in Siem Reap. As a Cambodian medical student, she’s completing part of her clinical training here. The night before, she invited Daphne and me to stay over at her place with her and a nurse from the Heart ICU. We ate together, laughed, and talked about our work as well as the differences between the Swiss and Cambodian healthcare

For a little over two weeks now, six-year-old Delux has been recovering from a successful Fontan procedure in the cardiac intensive care unit at Kantha Bopha Hospital in Siem Reap. This is the last of a total of three surgeries she has had to undergo as part of her treatment. Delux was born with a complex congenital heart defect in which only the left ventricle functions adequately. Such heart defects require a multi-stage treatment that begins in infancy. A few years ago, sh

Starting in August 2026, Anaëlle and Sina will be joining our team in Siem Reap. And with Melina and Romain, we’ll have students working in Phnom Penh for the first time. Here, they’ll all introduce themselves. Anaëlle Hurni, 24, Zurich Somehow, it was always clear to me that I wanted to study medicine. I wanted to learn something that would still inspire me in 20, 40, or 60 years and would never bore me. My biggest role model in this field is my father, who works as a famil

Starting in July 2026, Marco will be joining our team in Cambodia. The medical student will be working at our children’s hospital in Siem Reap for two months. He’ll introduce himself here. Marco Sallenbach, 28, Wiesendangen ZH I’ve been passionate about medicine from an early age. I’m fascinated by how scientific knowledge can be combined with compassion. I value the close contact with patients and the opportunity to get to know their stories and work together to find soluti

When Dr. Philip Robinson, the president of the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital Foundation, asked us if we’d like to accompany him to an NGO focused on clean water and hygiene just outside Siem Reap, we immediately agreed. On a Monday afternoon, we drove with him and Prof. Dr. Chhun for about half an hour to a small village in the countryside. As soon as we arrived, we saw a group of people waiting for us in front of a bright blue house. We were warmly welcomed by the founder

In early June, as junior residents at the hospital, we had the special opportunity to participate in a charity bike ride around Angkor Wat. The event was supported by the Cambodian Ministry of Justice and brought together several hundred participants to help fund the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital. Many families rely on the high-quality care provided there, which is free of charge for patients. We met at the hospital before sunrise and set off together for the starting poin

Starting in June 2026, Christopher will be joining our team in Cambodia. The medical student will be working at our children’s hospital in Siem Reap for two months. Here, he introduces himself. Christopher Meeks, 25, Winterthur ZH I owe my interest in medicine largely to two strong and inspiring women in my life. My mother and godmother are both doctors and have encouraged my fascination with the complexity of the human body from an early age. For me, our body is and always

The fight against the hidden danger lurking beneath Cambodia’s fields: To this day, Cambodia remains one of the countries most affected by landmines in the world. Decades of armed conflict – particularly during the Khmer Rouge regime and the subsequent civil war – left millions of hidden explosive devices scattered throughout the country. Although the war has long since ended, its consequences still affect the population every day. Especially in rural areas, landmines pose a

Find out why modern diagnostics absolutely require a well-equipped laboratory.

Canteen manager in Siem Reap

Mornh Phanun finally wanted to ride a motorcycle himself. The 12-year-old boy from Banteay Meanchey in northwestern Cambodia got on the seat, rode off, and crashed into a tree. The impact was severe: Phanun was impaled by a branch, which caused a deep wound in the area of his pelvis and buttocks. For his father, Saphanit, 36, this marked the beginning of an anxious time. The boy received prompt care at our hospital in Siem Reap. The team operated on him and was able to close

The 2026 Knie Gala – what a fantastic evening! A heartfelt thank you to our guests, all the volunteers, and the Knie family. This year, we were also delighted to welcome a delegation from the management of our hospital in Cambodia under the big top. A Meaningful Gift for Employees and Customers Every May, the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital Foundation hosts its traditional Knie Gala at Sechseläutenplatz in Zurich. Join this initiative and take the opportunity to book a ticke