Mona Prakash Mahtani, a resident of Hyderabad city, received the Commonwealth Youth Award for Excellence, 2016, in the field of education.
The award was given at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London by Youth Affairs director Katherine Ellis. The award is given to young people under the age of 30 years who have significantly contributed to social uplift.
Mahtani is the only Pakistani to receive this award in 2016. Some 17 young people from 53 Commonwealth countries were selected for the award. Mahtani was earlier conferred United Nations Development Programme’s N-Peace award.
Mona founded Dewan Farm School in her village, a primary school targeting poor and minority families. Since its establishment, Dewan has expanded its annual attendance from three to 75 pupils.