1996
Embedding Social Citizenship
Dr. K. Anji Reddy established the Foundation as a way of giving back to the society by supporting several causes to help marginalised communities.
1997
Neighbourhood Development Programs
To address the street garbage problem, DRF recruited people from low-income households and trained them to become ‘Street Beautifiers’ who collect and dispose of garbage. This helped many of them earn up to Rs.8000/- per month in fees and the sale of plastic waste for recycling.
1998
Investing In Children
To support marginalized children who were forced into child labor, DRF partnered with the Andhra Pradesh State Police Department and enrolled them in schools. The project was called the ‘Child and Police’ (CAP) Project and supported over 5000 children.
1999
Addressing Unemployment
Despite the opportunities created by economic liberalization, young people from disadvantaged communities failed to get employment because they lacked skills. DRF piloted a short-term placement-linked skill training on computer literacy and nursing. This was among India’s first short-term placement-linked skilling programs.
2000
Skill Development
DRF launched a small skill training center to train youth to find employment. This project gained popularity and soon evolved and came to be known as LABS ( Livelihood Advancement Business School.) LABS prepped young people on life skills apart from providing 92-days of technical training and job placements.
2001
Accessible Quality Education
DRF established the Kallam Anji Reddy Vidyalaya (KARV) to provide accessible quality education to children from economically backward homes.
2002
Collaborating with Govt. Schools
To improve learning outcomes of students in under-resourced government schools DRF started the ‘School Vision Exercises’ and supported them with necessary resources to enrich the schooling experience.
2003
Teaching Vocational Skills
To support matriculate students from low-income families who could not afford a regular university education, DRF launched Kallam Anji Reddy Vocational Junior College (KARV-JC). The college imparts two-year vocational courses.
2004
Forging New Partnerships
As DRF’s skilling program gained popularity others were interested to replicate the model. DRF organized its first National Conference on skilling and collaborated with Plan International to establish LABS centers in Vietnam, Srilanka and Indonesia in quick succession.
2005
Expansion Of Labs In India
The National Conference also helped LABS to gain visibility and enabled DRF to partner with the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India and establish LABS centers across 19 states in India.
2006
Establishment Of ERC
To support DRF’s educational institutions with well-researched resources to keep pace with academic and pedagogical requirements, the Foundation established the Education Resource Center.
2007
English Medium Neighbourhood Schools
The Pudami Neighbourhood Schools were established to meet a long-felt need for good English medium schools for children from low-income groups. The schools continue to provide English medium education to children from disadvantaged groups.
2008
Micro-Irrigation Rural Project
DRF launched the Micro-irrigation Rural Project. The project trained rural youth with elementary education in sprinkler and drip irrigation systems, electrification, and motor winding, and provided placement assistance.
2009
Consolidation & Strengthening Execution Systems
With the expansion of DRF’s centres and an increasing popularity of its programs, to meet all program outcomes DRF focused on consolidating and strengthening execution systems.
2010
Including People With Disability
DRF launched its first special training for persons with disabilities. Known as LABS-PwD the program ensured infra- accessibility and included sign language instructors to cater for their special needs.
2011
School Improvement Program
DRF initiated a partnership with Government Schools by launching the School Improvement Program (SIP). SIP supports government schools with infrastructure needs, remedial education and special teachers training.
2012
Expanding Labs-PwD
To reach out to more young people with disabilities, DRF expanded its PwD program to five states with the support of partners.
2013
Rural Livelihoods
DRF launched a Rural Livelihood program. The program supported small and marginal farmers with interventions on advanced farming practices and use of technology in addition to guidance to generate alternate income through livestock.
2014
Accessibility For Rural PwD
To facilitate easy accessibility and limit tedious travel for persons with disabilities in rural areas, LABS PwD expanded to 25 centres from 2014 to 2015 and included residential facilities for the aspirants.
2015
Focusing On Collective Problem Inquiry
To keep pace with the changing needs, DRF revisited its mission and included Collective Problem Inquiry as a core principle, and re-evaluated all its programs.
2016
Focusing On Problem Solving
In line with our new strategy the emphasis was on problem solving. This called for a remodeling of the earlier skilling program. LABS & LABS PwD were replaced with a new dynamic skill training program called GROW & GROW PwD. The programs focus on delivering industry- vetted Core Employability Skills and prepare aspirants for careers across various sectors. The program matches youth’s aspirations and competencies with employer requirements.
2016
Promoting Agri- Extension Platforms
DRF launched MITRA to develop an impactful and scalable community-based agriculture extension delivery platform. The program bridges the lack of last-mile delivery of agriculture extension services at the grassroots by helping marginal farmers to access existing public extension facilities, engage with agri-scientists, and by nudging them to adopt best farming practices through peer learning and sharing.
2017
Rural Entrepreneurship
Launched a pilot project to support rural entrepreneurs – especially rural women entrepreneurs. DRF supported young rural entrepreneurs with training, market research, business planning and access to financial services.
2018
Including Health Initiatives
DRF initiated training for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) to address the acute shortage of trained AHPs. DRF’s High Quality Healthcare Skilling (HQHCS) trains young people (from disadvantaged communities) at our state-of-the-art HQHCS Labs and offers them placement support.
SUPPORTING GIRLS FOR STEM STUDIES
To encourage women in science DRF nudges bright young girls from low-income families to study science by supporting them with a three-year scholarship. The SASHAKT Scholarship covers end-to-end expenses and links the scholars with a senior scientist for individualised mentoring.
2019
Scaling Up
DRF added training for visually challenged youth to its present gamut of skilling with specially designed methodology and curriculum.
DRF started a district-level, phase-wise scale-up to promote “lead farmers” by including all the villages in Samastipur district in Bihar.
2020
Leveraging Technology
The Foundation was well equipped to deploy and execute its technology platforms during the pandemic because DRF’s strategy was already focused on updating its tech agility. This foresight helped to quickly shift all classroom training to online. All GROW and GROW PwD centres across 18 states continued to deliver training via digital platforms. This ensured that communities received support even during a crisis.
2021
Climate & Environment
Addressing the emergent and important need to focus on Climate Change, DRF initiated the Action for Climate and Environment (ACE) program and intends to work with farmers since agriculture both contributes and is impacted by climate change.
The ACE program will focus on promoting and implementing climate-friendly agriculture practices and increasing resilience to climate change.
2022
Skill Development For Persons With Intellectual Disability
In line with DRF’s strategy to enable people with complex disabilities to join the organised sector, a focused skill training program for persons with intellectual disabilities was launched under GROW PwD. GROW PwD is DRF’s flagship skill development program for persons with disabilities and supports 13 disabilities.
The curriculum designed in collaboration with Sol’s ARC, an inclusive education solutions provider, is tailored to meet the learning needs of aspirants with intellectual disabilities. The program identifies suitable jobs in the retail sector and also sensitizes employers on hiring candidates with intellectual disabilities.
2023
Strengthening Public Health Systems
High-quality public health care services are essential for low-income households who otherwise incur high out-of-pocket expenditure burdens or adverse health outcomes. DRF started strengthening public health systems by upgrading Primary Health Centres in Andhra Pradesh. Collaborating with the District Public Health Administration, DRF works on enhancing diagnostic services, pharmacy management, labour room facilities, staff capabilities, patient management technology, emergency case stabilization, critical infrastructure, and bio waste management.
Upgraded health centres make comprehensive primary care accessible to rural households and contribute to India’s health goals.
2024
e-Skill Development
DRF’s in-house e-learning app Skillfy notches the 30,000 subscriber mark. The app launched in 2023, features easily accessible upskilling courses across multiple domains and promotes self-paced learning, and revision and includes certification. The app prioritizes inclusive learning and hosts many features like font selection, colour schema, transcripts, voice search, subtitles, and local language content.
