The idea of providing sustainable livelihoods began on a modest note in 1996, with programs for guiding children at risk (including child labor) into mainstream education through bridge schools. As these programs adversely impacted the family income of these children, DRF conceived the idea of providing vocational skills to their above-18 siblings.

Under a program titled ‘Urban Neighborhood Sanitation Program’, DRF trained a few young street dwellers in Hyderabad to become micro-entrepreneurs with responsibility for keeping individual colonies free of garbage.

The municipality provided tricycles for garbage collection, while the colony dwellers paid the entrepreneurs for their services. The program was scaled up to 10 other cities / towns in Andhra Pradesh, in collaboration with UNICEF.

Buoyed by this success, DRF widened its skill development programs to include hospital health care workers, office assistants, domestic workers, home nurses and computer operators. In 1999, all these programs were brought under one umbrella, which was appropriately christened the Livelihoods Advancement Business School (LABS).

The LABS program is now extant across India, with over 100 LABS centers spread over 20 states. In association with Plan International, DRF has also set up LABS centers in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

In the Education sector, DRF seeks to spread quality education through its Pudami Neighborhood Schools, Transit Education Centers, YUVA Youth Learning Centers, Altius Advancement School, Kallam Anji Reddy Vidyalaya and Vocational Junior College. .