Medical student Jan Han worked at our hospital in Siem Reap as part of his elective year – and is also a passionate photographer. He has now organized a three-week exhibition entitled “When Life hurts, Siem Reap heals” at the Photobastei in Zurich, featuring the pictures he took during his time there. Jan is exhibiting his photographs of the hospital environment and of the country and its people. The pictures are available for purchase, and he plans to donate the net proceeds

“We have to hit each other in Switzerland.” I come to this conclusion with a smile as I walk out of the ward after a day at the MPICU (Mother-Pediatric-ICU). At this point, I had spent about a month in Cambodia at Kantha Bopha Hospital, working in the maternity ward, the surgery ward (pediatrics), and the MPICU. Before that, I was able to enjoy a few days of vacation and celebrated New Year's Eve here in Siem Reap. That evening, we had our first real contact with the locals a

Diogo will be joining our team in Cambodia in March 2026. The medical student will be working at our children's hospital in Siem Reap for two months. Here he introduces himself. Diogo Pinheiro Zimmermann, 26, Dietikon ZH In secondary school, I decided that I wanted to study medicine. I was inspired above all by role models: four doctors in particular influenced my decision—because when I watched them, I knew that I wanted to work as a doctor one day. They were: Dr. Konrad Gri

During the eight weeks we spent in Siem Reap as medical students, we laughed, cried, learned, and above all understood what a tremendous legacy Beat Richner and Peter Studer have left behind here. No matter where we went or who we spoke to, the hospitals named after the late Princess Kantha Bopha are firmly anchored in the consciousness of the population. I was deeply impressed by the openness with which we were welcomed and the profound gratitude shown to us on behalf of the

The video takes you on a tour of one of our hospitals. The history of the Kantha Bopha hospitals is an impressive chapter in humanitarian aid. In 1992, Swiss pediatricians Beat Richner (1947-2018) and his colleague Peter Studer (1947-2020) rebuilt the hospital in Phnom Penh at the request of the king, which had been reduced to rubble after the war. In 1999, the Jayavarman VII Hospital opened its doors in the north of the country. Today, we care for around 3,000 children every

They care for sick or injured children and their families, ensure the medical quality of the hospitals, serve as contact persons for the staff, and manage the enormous daily influx. Professor Dr. med. Ky Santy is the hospital director in Phnom Penh, Professor Dr. med. Yay Chantana his counterpart in Siem Reap. We speak with both about the everyday challenges, support from Switzerland, and remember the two founders, Beat Richner and Peter Studer. The heads of our hospitals:

We look back on the past year with gratitude and pride. Our five children's hospitals were very busy – as the figures confirm: 1,071,637 girls, boys, and babies sought medical assistance from us in 2025. Significantly more children than in the previous year were so seriously ill or injured that we had to admit them as inpatients – 233,243 (up 25.6 percent). We recorded 22,982 cases of dengue fever, 34,889 surgical procedures, and 1,163 open-heart or cardiac catheterization o

It should have been a normal day. Yeng Sary was out in the family's rice fields with her daughter Dy Chhengly to start harvesting. But then the six-year-old climbed a tree, slipped, and fell to the ground. Her mother knew immediately that something was wrong with her daughter's arm. It swelled up more and more, and Chhengly complained of pain. So the two immediately made their way to our children's hospital in Siem Reap. There, the team diagnosed a fracture of the forearm. Th

This year started differently than usual for me. Instead of sitting in cold Switzerland, I am now here in Siem Reap, a small, often underestimated town. From the very first moment, I felt how lively this city is and how open and warm the people here are. A friend of mine had recommended that I spend part of my elective study year at Kantha Bopha in Siem Reap—he himself was very enthusiastic about his stay there. So I came here with high expectations. Nevertheless, the hospita

It has now been a few weeks since I returned to Switzerland after my assignment for the Beat Richner Foundation. Cambodia as a country and its healthcare system have left an impression on me that will stay with me for a long time to come. The combination of heat, humidity, and noise creates a constant background noise every day. Machines, patients, parents, the team—everything sounds at once. Even after several days, it feels as if my senses are still overwhelmed: on the left

Maternity ward at Jayavarman VII Hospital « Each birth adds to the beauty of the world. » This saying is nowhere more true than at Kantha Bopha Hospital in Siem Reap, with more than 50 births per day, sometimes reaching 80 or even a record of 115 since the hospital opened, and with a caesarean section rate of around 20%. Let us now take a tour of the Jayavarman VII maternity ward.   Expanded and improved last year according to the plans of the hospital's director, Denis Laure

Starting in January 2026, the three medical students will be joining our team in Cambodia. They will be working for two months at our children's hospital and maternity ward in Siem Reap. Here they introduce themselves. Bjarne von Götz, 23, Zurich I decided to study medicine because of my interest in science and because I enjoy working with people. A nursing internship then cemented my interest. During my junior year, I would like to see other healthcare systems and circumsta

Two examples of how endoscopy saves lives at Kantha Bopha. During the week of 10-14 November 2025, a Swiss mission led by four physicians and two nurses from the KiSpi took place at Kantha Bopha. Several topics, focused on the concrete needs of sick children and newborns, were addressed: intensive care, infectious diseases, nephrology, and gastroenterology. It is this last field that will be the focus of this article. Here, we present two diseases for which the use of endosco

During our time as students in Cambodia, we were able to gain countless experiences in the pediatric intensive care units, the maternity ward, and also in surgery. Of course, there are many other wards in this hospital, and I would like to tell you a little more about one of them. As of November, the oncology ward in Siem Reap is the hospital's newest department. It was officially opened on May 2 this year. The first patients were admitted to one of the 24 available beds at t

This one question has burrowed deep into her heart: “Why did my son get cancer?” Mao Ngogun blames herself—because such an innocent little creature cannot suddenly suffer so much without reason. What did she do wrong? Was the food she gave her child bad? “At first, I lost all hope and cried a lot,” she says, putting her arms around the boy sitting next to her on the hospital bed. The first signs that something was wrong appeared a few months earlier. Two-year-old Chivorn Sere

With a suitcase filled to the brim and barely complying with the airline's strict rules, I made my way to the airport with a heavy heart. It was a hasty farewell to a time that I had lived so intensely. I don't want to forget any of it: the rattling tuk-tuk rides, the sunsets captured over ancient temples, the rain showers, the friendships that formed quietly and grew stronger than expected. The first surgical knots that my hands tied hesitantly at first, then more confidentl

Cambodian-style hospitality. The two months I spent at Kantha Bopha Hospital were an extremely formative and enriching time for me, which I will look back on with great gratitude. From the very beginning, we were welcomed with remarkable openness, which made it extremely easy for me to settle in. The atmosphere towards us Swiss medical students was warm, uncomplicated, and often accompanied by humor. This made many situations that could quickly become stressful in everyday cl

Pierre will be joining our team in Cambodia in November 2025. The medical student will be working at our children's hospital in Siem Reap for two months. Here he introduces himself. Pierre Roux, 25, Grimisuat VS After high school and during my community service, I decided to study medicine. I wanted to help other people and at the same time complete a scientific degree. Since high school had given me the experience of knowledge and community service had given me the experie

Dr. Bunthong (right) with his team, whom I had the privilege of following for a week. Incubators, the constant beeping of monitors, and the smallest babies you have ever seen – these are the first impressions when you enter the neonatal intensive care unit in Siem Reap. Here, day after day, tireless efforts are made to ensure the survival and recovery of newborns and premature babies. The diseases and medical problems remain essentially the same as in Switzerland: infection p

«When life hurts – Siem Reap heals.» A saying we often heard from hospital staff and proud residents of this special city. For two months, I had the privilege of witnessing how the team at Kantha Bopha Hospital works every day to ensure that a stay in Siem Reap can truly heal, in the truest sense of the word. For this, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the directors, doctors, nurses, midwives, and all the staff at the hospital and the Kantha Bopha Children's Hosp