Welcome, dear Bénédicte

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 was – and still is – the decisive factor for me. Over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed exploring the wide range of possible specialties and have been continually inspired by the constant advancements in medicine. All in all, it’s a profession where you never stop learning – one that’s as varied as it is challenging.

Being able to spend part of my elective year abroad represents a unique opportunity for me to get to know a foreign country and its people in a very special way. At the same time, it provides valuable insight into a different healthcare system, which will likely have a lasting impact on how I view our own. Having grown up bilingual, I’ve always been interested in foreign cultures. I find it particularly fascinating to see the different ways life can be lived and the traditions that are upheld in various corners of the world.

When I heard about the opportunity to volunteer at the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital, I didn’t hesitate for a moment. The chance to gain insight into such a significant life’s work – and to even play an active role in it—certainly doesn’t come along every day. That’s why I’m all the more excited about this experience, which I imagine will be incredibly educational and memorable, as well as challenging.

Challenging, on the one hand, because of the language barrier and dealing with critical situations, and on the other hand, because of finding my way in a place that will be unfamiliar at first, with countless new impressions. All I expect from this assignment is to learn a lot of new things: about pediatrics and obstetrics, life in Cambodia, and perhaps, to some extent, about myself as well. Above all, I’m eager to witness Beat Richner’s vision of justice in Siem Reap—a vision he has pursued with such dedication despite leading a comfortable life as a pediatrician in Zurich. As he once said in his children’s book *The Wonderful Kingdom of Princess Kantha Bopha*: “All children have a right to proper and efficient care, because they are all princesses and princes.”