Hello all guides,
I hope you are doing well and enjoyed weekend. Today, I went to the children hospital to hand over the donation money to the hospital. Let’s me share a story of how we founded the charity team - thanks to our Guiding Star 2021 @KamalHossenR who keeps inspired me to share such contents here.
identifier.html (769 KB)In memory of Dr. Beat Richner, founder of the children hospital
Today, marks 10 years of “We, Together For Kanthabopha” group which I was one of the major founders among many of us, normal social media users (Facebook). Kanthabopha is the name of the children hospital located in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. The hospital was named after the Late Princess Kanthabopha (daughter of late King Norodom Sihanouk, who passed away due to illness as a kid). The late king invited Dr. Beat Richner (a Swiss paediatrician) to come and found a children hospital here since before civil war and used the name of the late princess to the hospital which has never changed up to now. It was hauled during the civil war which Dr. Richer was forced to leave Cambodia. It was then resumed its major task after the civil war. Despite other branches, only the one in Siem Reap provides maternity cares & delivery, adding to the children speciality. The service in the hospital is best, but all free and millions of children have been cured and treated here.
Ask any Cambodian and they will tell you they have relatives or kids that have received treatment from the hospital.
Thanks to the Swiss people who have been the major contributors to the foundation for many decades up to now. Today, we mourn Dr. Med. Beat Richer (1947-2018: never married said to spend all his time for the Cambodian children and only left Cambodia when he was already seriously sick and his sister came to send him to Switzerland to treat) and his friend (Dr. Peter Studer, 1947-2020) who joined hand at that time for the sake of Cambodia’s children. In the memoir, it said “during the 25 years of his work, his hospitals treated 15.4 million outpatients and 1.7 million seriously ill children as inpatients.”. There are 5 branches of the hospital with the same name and these five Kantha Bopha children’s hospitals treat about 80% of the sick children in Cambodia especially those from the remote areas throughout Cambodia.
In 2012, Dr. Richner then announced that the hospital was short of funds and needs immediate support, especially for local people to help. It was then my friends and I, joined a meeting and decided to give helping hands in the name of independent youth group. Even the funds have never been big - but that’s our heart keep us sharing more and more. The funds came from Cambodians people living locally or abroad, who are factory workers, teachers, local business owners, monks, elder people, children and many others - came together to contribute less and more to the hospital so it won’t shut down because it lacked of funds to run them.
Funds receiving in Summary (to date)
|
Date founded the charity group |
12/06/2012 |
||
|
US Dollars + Local currency |
Dates of donation |
||
|
1st donation |
$ 2,463.00 |
5,235,000.00៛ |
4/8/2012 |
|
2nd donation |
$ 3,744.00 |
4,918,600.00៛ |
28/11/2012 |
|
3rd donation |
$ 5,224.00 |
3,699,000.00៛ |
22/12/2013 |
|
4th donation |
$ 7,428.00 |
7,453,000.00៛ |
11/8/2014 |
|
5th donation |
$ 6,262.00 |
5,060,000.00៛ |
19/9/2015 |
|
6th donation |
$ 7,515.00 |
5,130,000.00៛ |
14/1/2017 |
|
7th donation |
$ 3,185.00 |
1,120,000.00៛ |
13/1/2018 |
|
8th donation |
$ 4,475.00 |
3,410,000.00៛ |
19/1/2019 |
|
9th donation |
$ 5,135.00 |
2,300,000.00៛ |
4/1/2020 |
|
10th donation |
$ 5,010.00 |
500,000.00៛ |
9/1/2010 |
|
11th donation |
$ 2,920.00 |
2,528,000.00៛ |
15/1/2022 |
|
Total (by currency) |
$ 53,361.00 |
41,353,600____៛ |
|
|
Total to date |
$ 63,584.39 (US+KH Riels) |
** we decided that despite all busy schedule, we will come around at the end or beginning of the year to contribute.
Actually, we were the first one to start it. Throughout the years, there are more and more people come out to help. Many years later, there are even tycoons, millionaires and businessmen start to give more (Million and millions $) which is a very good sign. In recent years, there are app in mobile phone which you can donate directly to the hospital or the children’s hospital funds.
*** We are happy to be a bridge, either to contribute ourselves (money and blood), keep in account those who contribute thorough our group or ask information and donate themselves. As long as people help, whatever method, it is very good. If people still transferred funds to us, we will still be here. Our mission still continues for many years to come! When we started, we had long term goal, but never expected that we have come this far, a decade and looking forward. There are many groups created for similar purpose but they are once or twice and disappeared. We are still here, even most of the founders got married and get busy with life. We formed friendship that are here for life too.
*** I also made a list of children hospitals on Google Map (both in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh) which people can go to treat their children, mostly for free. A list can be found here.
*** You can join by donate money, blood or be someone to collect cashes from others.
- Make appointment with the doctor & admin team when you select date to do and give donation
- You also inform the admin and doctor team that you will donate blood
- Besides, people or those who contributed also join to witness the contribution [we are solely volunteers]
- Once or twice a year, the head of the hospital would forward message to us that they need urgent blood as blood bank is short so requested that our team help to donate blood or convey the message to the public. We cannot count how many people have been giving blood.
First time to contribute money to the founder of Kanthabopha, Dr. Beat Richner. He was then playing Beatocello as a way to raise funds to help the hospital.
We saw his performance for the first time and also his last time
Event back in 2012 to raise funds for the hospital
Event back in 2012
Volunteer musicians did rehearsal**before the event 
We made it to meet Dr. Beat Richner in Siem Reap 2012 when he was still leading the hospital
Contribution to Dr. Beat Richner, 2012 at Siem Reap
I was telling him how we got the money
Back in 2013
Contribution in 2015
Contribution in 2017
The team joined the funeral of Dr. Beat Richner in Phnom Penh back in 2018. Paying the homage to him
Today’s contribution
