Father Xavier Arbex : Founder

Father Xavier, was born to a Swiss mother and Spanish father, is a Fidei Donum priest. He left the comfortable Geneva to go to Peru in 1975.

He began his work in the highlands of Puno, more than 4,000 meters high. After a few years (hard years, says the father) he moves to the jungle, to take care of the children enslaved in the gold mines of Mazuco, city of Madre de Dios.

In the end, it arrives at Puerto Maldonado, capital of the department. “Apronia explains Father Xavier – it is an association for the protection of children and adolescents. It deals with minors victims of labor exploitation and today, above all, of sexual exploitation. ”

The structure of Hogar Principito is very simple and functional: the dining room, the kitchen, the study room, the bedrooms, the offices are autonomous houses. We ask Father Xavier how the lives of the young people staying are developed. They behave like in a family. The boys eat and sleep here. They go to the neighborhood school, study, play, frequent friends. They are like children of a middle class family. The only difference is in the number: instead of having three children, the Apronia family have more than 70.

Association in Peru: Apronia-Peru

«APRONIA» (Association for the protection of children and adolescents) is a legal civil association whose goal is to support and help children and adolescents in difficulty. The association works in close collaboration with the family judge and the Municipal Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents (DEMUNA).

Words from the founder of Apronia Peru: Xavier Arbex

«Solidarity» is not an empty word for us, it is a living reality, which allows us to find, thanks to the visits of volunteers and friends, here in Peru, the commitment of the almost 65 employees of our companies and the Permanent, both in Apronia Peru and in Apronia Switzerland and for economic sharing. It is truly an artery where life goes from one continent to the other!

Association in Switzerland: Apronia-Suisse

The association “was born” in 2005. A group of close friends of Father Xavier Arbex wanted to support the actions in favor of the children and young people of Puerto Maldonado. The objective of Apronia-Suisse is to sponsor the Peruvian association, to make known in Switzerland the needs of the children of Puerto Maldonado and to promote the activities developed in order to help them. She collects the funds that allow to pursue this project and to accompany the Peruvian association towards its autonomy.

Words from the founder of the Apronia Suisse association: Jacques Longchamp

To live a few days in Hogar Principito, is to store in memory a multitude of children’s laughter, images of a happy, simple life and an atmosphere of a big family, where everyone has their place. So that this refuge of peace and joy, Father Xavier insists on the need to have in Switzerland a companion association, that not only supports us financially, but also advises us and makes us aspire to autonomy.

An Orphanage in the Amazon

Apronia is strongly linked to the French association: «  an orphelinat in Amazonie  who has participated in the construction of the home Principito.