Sarah Terry is a Dramatic Arts, Mathematics and Life Orientation teacher at St Teresa’s, an all-girls’ Mercy school in Rosebank, Johannesburg, where she has been on the staff for almost thirteen years, having been attracted by the strong sense of community and focus on ethos.

“St Teresa’s is a special place. I think it is a place that reflects the South African context, the diversity and wonderful cultural background of our country,” shared Sarah. “We have very special students of all denominations at our school, wonderful parents and the individual is always at the heart of it.”

In 2014, the then principal, Sr Barbara Sumner, presented Sarah with a challenge – to make connections for their students with other Mercy schools across the globe. “I knew nothing about Mercy before I started at St. Teresa’s,” Sarah declared. “I wasn’t a Mercy past-pupil. The programme, which I consequently began to develop, is where I started to learn about Mercy and Catherine McAuley and made connections with other Sisters in South Africa and their ministries.”

The Mercy Ambassador’s Programme as it is known, now in its tenth year, is designed to benefit deserving pupils of the school, and aims to build on the five core values of St Teresa’s: collaboration, excellence, compassion, spiritual growth and global responsibility. “I was very passionate about making sure that the students we chose for this programme were not just those who were financially well-off and could afford to take part, but that they were the best ambassadors for us and for Mercy; and we would then fundraise in order for them to be able to participate,” Sarah explained.

This programme is run in conjunction with other Mercy organisations around the world and has connected St. Teresa’s students with Mercy communities in the USA, Australia and Ireland. “It all goes back to Catherine McAuley. She really was a feminist leader in a patriarchal time and she stood up against injustices. That’s what St. Teresa’s has taught me and allowed me the space to do and allows me to do with the students as well,” said Sarah. “And St Teresa’s is a pioneer of this. If you go back to Apartheid, the Sisters were teaching people of colour in an integrated setting when it was illegal to do so.”

Catherine inspires me, the Sisters inspire me, they are mentors to me. And that’s what I’m trying to give and to bring out in the students in my care,” Sarah added. In recent years, Sarah has had the opportunity to extend her personal growth, broaden her network and enhance her leadership abilities through becoming involved in Mercy projects she learned about during her visit with students to Ireland in 2023, for the Young Mercy Leaders programme. During October – November 2023, Sarah was a member of Mercy Global Action’s Women in Leadership Justice Task Force, which created a targeted advocacy campaign in preparation for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The publication produced by this international Mercy group can be accessed here.

In September 2024 Sarah began a year-long journey as part of the Mercy Global Action’s Emerging Leaders Fellowship, one of 10 women from across the Mercy world engaged in a programme to develop personal skills, gain fresh perspectives, make lasting connections, connect with grassroots voices, and undertake research and action for global justice. Sarah’s project, entitled “Creating Global Citizens for the 21st Century” focusing on human rights, the UN’s sustainable development goals and social justice viewed through a Mercy lens, was presented at the end of August 2025, will be a handbook and module for secondary school years building on the Ambassador’s programme.

“I’m grateful for the formation and the sisterhood and the care in which I’ve been held by Mercy. I came into the school like the proverbial ‘bull in a china shop’”, reflected Sarah. “There have been so many Sisters who’ve been mentors. I’ve listened and engaged, and the information has been fantastic. The connections, the conversations and the experiences have been incredible. Each person along the way, around the globe opens the world and to be able to bring that back to school … I’m very grateful.”

“I will always hold onto the fact that once the seed (of Mercy) is planted, it will grow if you have nurtured it. We don’t always get to see the fruits of our labours.”

“Catherine’s legacy is found all over the world. She didn’t get to see that. We must trust in the fact that whatever we have nurtured and done will continue to grow,” Sarah concluded.