PIBH is Proud to Present the 2006 Nettie Mann Achievement Award Winner

Magaly Britt

Magaly Britt was born in the village of Aruaca in Columbia, South America. When she was a very young girl, Magaly was found buried in a hole in a rural mountain area. She was severely malnourished and barely breathing. Doctors believe that the lack of oxygen may have caused her cerebral palsy and her learning disability.

She was brought to Children’s social services in Columbia. She spent some time in foster care, and then in an orphanage. Magaly’s adoptive mother said when she first saw Magaly’s picture and read about her life, she knew it was the daughter that she had been searching for. The nuns in the orphanage thought she would be their ward forever. She was unable to walk and had received no adaptive devices or training. The nuns at the orphanage said that all Magaly could do was crawl around and clean things. Her mother says, “to this day she can clean her butt off”.

Nobody knows exactly how old Magaly is, but when she was brought to the United States in June of 1988, doctors determined her age to be between 5 and 7 years based on bone scans and dental maturation. She spoke no English, only Spanish, had no education, and had not had any of the medical benefits of a country like the United States. Magaly learned a lot of her English by watching Sesame Street.

Magaly has always been a feisty, high-spirited girl. She got into a fight with the cab driver the day she arrived in America as a little girl. Her first night here, she stayed in a hotel and kept falling out of bed. Her mother kept picking her up and putting her back in bed. Today, Magaly’s attitude is to pick others up and help them.

When she arrived at her new house, her mother said she stayed up for 2 straight days, without sleeping, just looking at her clothes and her room. She never wanted to leave the house. She loved to just sit in her new home and enjoy it.

She attended Old Forge School for 2 years which is an Easter Seals School, where she studied English as her 2nd language. She then attended Glenwood Elementary School in her local community. She graduated from Penncrest High School. While in school, Magaly never missed a dance. She enjoyed every opportunity to dress up.

When she was 14, she had a plate put in her hip to assist her walking. This caused her much pain and she suffered a lot but never complained or let it show. She endured years of physical therapy and a big part of her therapy was horse back riding. She has won several awards in such shows as the Devon Horse Show.

Magaly has two adoptive brothers, Elijah and Joe, who has Downs Syndrome. Her mother said one day when Magaly was a little girl, they were in a supermarket and some kids were making fun of Joe, and Magaly started chasing the kids down the aisle on her crutches saying, “that’s my brother, don’t you dare make fun of him.”

Magaly’s mother sent me this quote. “Magaly is a remarkably strong person to have survived, and persevered in this life thus far. She compensates for her disability in ways that I admire. She is bright and bubbly and really enjoys being around people. She is the typically loving, older sister to her special needs brothers. She is a strong advocate for herself, and is not afraid to ask questions when she is not sure of something. Magaly continues to surprise me with her ability to look at the bright side of situations, and tries to make the best of difficult times.”

Magaly became an American citizen. And, according to her mother, “Magaly wants to be identified as an American.” When she told me that her favorite things to do are shop and spend money, I realized that she is as American as apple pie.

When Magaly is not working as a Photo License Technician in Bortondale, or any other site where we need her, she can be found volunteering at her local church with the youth group. She believes strongly in helping others who are less fortunate than she is.

 < < Click on images to the left for information about each runner up.

Established in 1976, the Nettie Mann Achievement Award seeks to recognize an individual from one of our 90 affiliated work centers throughout the Commonwealth. Some of the better-known work centers are the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind, Goodwill Industries, The Easter Seal Society, United Cerebral Palsy of Pennsylvania, and the Association for Retarded Citizens.

The award winner must be a person who exhibits outstanding achievement and exceptional character in living and coping with his or her disabilities, particularly in the work place. To be so recognized, out of the over 10,000 people employed in our family of work centers, is quite an honor.

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