An Oasis of Hope

Acharya Sri Rakum School for the Blind is a Free Residential School for the Visually Impaired and for the Sighted-under privileged was started in 1998. The school starts from Nursery and goes up to the Postgraduate level, preparing the students to face competitive entrance exams like the Civil services and take up jobs and be mainstreamed in society.

The School believes in an integrated approach where both blind and sighted children study and grow up together. The training imparted includes reading and writing through Braille and mobility training for totally blind children. The children are educated and go through the regular school curriculum and also learn Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam, sports, yoga, karate, singing, cooking and abacus. Vocational skills are also important and we endeavor to build the children’s social skills and confidence.

There are three branches in Bangalore located at Indiranagar, Devanahalli and Arkavathy Layout. The total strength of the school is about 800 students. All facilities offered by the school are free and the school meets its expenses from contributions and donations from well-wishing people.

About Rakum

The founder, Acharya Rakum ji, has been a familiar face in Bangalore, helping and supporting the needy.

Rakum Ji may not have been born with a golden spoon but he was definitely motivated from a very young age. During his school days, a notable athlete and a champ in long distance running in high school and University. He played football passionately for the school senior team and for the college as a stopper. He was interested and participated in Volleyball, Basketball, Shuttle Badminton and Cricket player. In Football, he played for clubs too.

Self-Discipline was reinforced by practicing Judo, Aikido, Preymantis kungfu, Kalari, Gymnastics and Stick fighting. It was his childhood wish, that by the age of 18, he should be financially independent. Destiny aligned, and at a young age of 17, he had started his own Dojo and running it well. At the age of 20, a certified Yoga teacher and at 21, a Black belt and branch chief of International Karate organisation.

This was just a start to his success. Intense passion led him to travel abroad. In Japan, he learned Tea ceremony (o Cha) and Ikebana (Flower arrangements) from Japanese Masters. He also practiced Kickboxing in Manchester, England.

In 1982, while teaching kids contracted with Polio, Rakum ji discovered the effect of a treatment without medicine and a medicine without treatment. This method had helped a lot of polio affected kids and it received massive media attention. Seeing the need that children with disabilities faced, he began the school with a handful of students at Indiranagar. In 1984, after participating in the South-East Asia meet in Jakarta, Indonesia, with much confidence he inaugurated centres in Bangalore, Pondicherry and Hyderabad.

After much expansion, in 1987 Rakum ji felt the need for an organised entity and then registered a charitable trust under the name "Ma Jagat Abhyasa Samudra Kendra's". In 1993, he registered another trust called," Temple of fighting no arts". The Govt. granted an 80G Tax Exemption status and continued it with the “Sri Rakum School for the Blind”.

The children are provided with education, physical activities, like yoga, karate, games, nutritious food, clothing, and shelter. Acharya Rakum shares his values that help the children grow in the society. His teachings are taken from the various philosophies and texts of Indian origin. He uses the Zen Philosophy and the Zen style of teaching, sharing and inculcating values through stories and a lifestyle that he has demonstrated and can be followed.