Disability rights activist Rita Vella Borg died on Thursday, aged 50, her colleagues at the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability announced. 

Vella Borg, who suffered from muscular dystrophy and for many years chaired a support group for people living with the disease, was a well-known figure within the disability activism community. 

“Rita was a pillar to the CRPD and the disability sector as a committed and vocal activist for the promotion of independent living,” the commission said in a statement on its Facebook page. 

“The embodiment of grit and positivity. She will be missed dearly.” 

Vella Borg was diagnosed with the disease when she was eight years old and stopped walking three years later, losing all movement in her hands by the age of 16.

However, in a 2010 interview, she shared with Times of Malta that she did not allow her condition to stop her from living, finding ways to write, use a computer and even paint with her mouth.  

One of Rita Vella Borg's paintings. File Photo: Times of Malta

That year, she was recognised as one of 12 Women Inspiring Europe after winning a competition organised by the European Insitute for Gender Equality in Vilnius. 

In December 2012, Vella Borg and her late husband Kevin Vella were awarded the National Order of Merit by the President for promoting the rights of people with a disability.

Tributes came pouring in for Vella Borg on Thursday afternoon, with many lauding her life work in advancing the rights of people with disabilities.