The co-founder of a foundation which supports persons with disabilities in Sri Lanka has been named Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2017. Krystle Reid co-founded Enable Lanka Foundation to break stereotypes and stigma, and was recognized along with three other outstanding regional winners in this year’s Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work. Through her foundation, Krystle and her team have helped disabled young people to secure employment and become self-sufficient. She was also part of the first ever campaign in Sri Lanka aimed at encouraging participation of persons with disabilities in the electoral process. On learning of her award, Krystle said, “Winning this award means that people do believe in our work and admitting the fight for the largest minority in the world is real.

“This award will definitely be advantageous as it would give more credibility to the work we do at Enable Lanka Foundation and bring more opportunities to collaborate with other organizations and like-minded people.