Agape Rehabilitation Center
History of Agape Rehabilitation Center
Daniel Victor was born into a loving Christian home and accepted Jesus as his personal Savior at the age of ten. Undergoing open heart surgery as a teenager, he learned early in life to lean on the Lord's strength. In December 1983, he attended a missions conference of the Union of Evangelical Students of India, where he dedicated himself to involvement in missions. After college and graduate studies in mathematics and computer science, Mr. Victor received further education abroad in rehabilitation training.
Like her husband, Avitha Victor was born into a loving Christian family. After obtaining a B.S. in mathematics, she took additional studies in computers. In 1989 she accepted Jesus as her personal Savior. She writes, "I waited on the Lord to use me to help either persons with disabilities (I had a few disabled friends and realized the difficulties they faced) or orphan children." God answered Avitha's prayers by opening a position for her at a local training center for the disabled. There she taught computer skills to persons with disabilities, and there she met Daniel. They were married in 1991 and have two children.
Agape Rehabilitation Center
In 1995 Daniel and Avitha Victor founded the ministry of Agape Rehabilitation Center, which serves the physically disabled community. Agape's goal is to help disabled persons gain economic independence. As of 2005, Agape has served over 400 persons, providing computer training free of charge and without regard to caste, gender or creed. Agape's training includes specialized courses for persons with all kinds of physical handicaps, including orthopedic disabilities, dwarfism, and the deaf and blind. Agape's computer training program was recently awarded certification by the Indian government, a high honor to the center and a boon to its graduates. Agape provides wheelchairs or bicycles for those who need them. For those registrants who are not residents of the city of Chennai, Agape also runs a temporary boarding hostel with a capacity of 14 students. Stays in the hostel range from one week to 18 months.
Able Computers
After students complete either Agape's one-year diploma course or one of its short-term advanced courses, Agape provides job placements and social integration services through its linked agency called Able Computers. The ministry of Able Computers allows the disabled person to become truly and fully integrated into society.
Jesus Enables Ministries (JEMs)
Agape Rehabilitation Center and Able Computers together comprise the vocational component of the Victors' mission. The spiritual component of their mission is met through Jesus Enables Ministries, whose mission statement outlines its goals: "Reaching persons with disabilities with the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for salvation and discipleship." JEMs, as Jesus Enables Ministries is known, hosts one-day retreats for the disabled called "Get-to-Follow Jesus," and an annual three-day spiritual retreat called "Get-to-Know Jesus." Many students have accepted Jesus into their lives as a result of these retreats. The Victors have regular morning prayer at Agape Rehabilitation Center and evening prayer for the hostel boarders. And all students, most of whom come from Hindu backgrounds, are invited to church each Sunday. All of them are given Bibles as Christmas gifts and encouraged to read the Word regularly.
