Bal Vikas Dhara’s major focus had initially been on children exploited for their labour in the areas of Vasant Vihar and Vasant Kunj in Delhi. BVD Founder Mr Baral is a former unorganized Labour Union leader as well as a social activist who has worked intensively in the National Educational Campaign and National Campaign against Child Labour in his association with the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude and Bonded Labour Liberation Front. BVD began its efforts in the targeted areas of Delhi to get non-school going and child labourers (especially those waste picking) into slum NFE centres. Over a period of time a network of community leaders and volunteers have begun contributing significantly in taking up a number of social and economic initiatives for the upliftment of working children and their parents. The target group grew from children to families, from child labourers to specific occupational groups, i.e. waste pickers, domestic workers, youth and women. Women’s issues have gradually emerged as a focus in all BVD interventions. BVD works towards the empowerment of marginalized communities with a special focus on women and children by creating awareness on causes where a groups rights have been denied and asserting those rights as a collective group, with a commitment to build a responsible civil society and socially just governance for sustained impact. From 20th August, 2000 BVD began working especially on waste pickers rights. The work with waste picker children began with education (NFE classes for Waste Picker children) and capacity building of waste pickers on the issue of Waste Picker identity, dignity & livelihood.
