For International Women’s Day, we took the opportunity to acknowledge some of the remarkable women we have had the honour of working. The women are all recipients of the Cath Leary Social Justice award.
We believe these women deserve more than a moment-in-time acknowledgement on our Facebook page and we are proud to honour them one more time!
The first woman we acknowledge is Cath Leary. Cath worked tirelessly for people and communities who needed a voice and needed change. She is remembered for her passion for social justice, her generosity, her intelligence and great sense of humour.
Cath was a member of the Mercy Foundation Board and grants committee for almost 10 years. She lived her life exemplifying all that the Mercy Foundation strives for, to be at the service of human dignity.
As a tribute to Cath, the Mercy Foundation Board renamed the social justice award in her name and Cath’s family has set up the Cath Leary Social Justice Foundation in her honour.
Cath’s legacy and influence lives on, in the work of the Mercy Foundation, the work of the Cath Leary Social Justice Foundation and in the hearts of all who knew her. Read more about Cath and the Cath Leary Social Justice Award here: https://bit.ly/3v7jPOm
Another remarkable woman is Mahboba Rawi OAM, the founder of Mahboba’s Promise, a charity established in 2001 to improve the lives of vulnerable women and children in Afghanistan and Australia.
In 2023, Mahboba was awarded the Cath Leary Social Justice Award in recognition of her outstanding work, effort and lifelong commitment to upholding human rights and human dignity in her work with Afghan women and children.
Her courage and commitment to ensuring that marginalised women and children have access to education is similar to that of many Sisters of Mercy, who have dedicated their lives to educating young women and children facing hardship, following the example of their founder, Catherine McAuley.
Dedicating her life to healing trauma, Norma Tracey AM is the next woman we honour.
For more than 60 years, Norma has dedicated her life to working with mothers, particularly new Aboriginal mothers, fathers and children, helping them to recover and heal from trauma and intergenerational trauma.
Norma was awarded the Cath Leary Social Justice Award in 2022, in recognition of her outstanding work, effort and lifelong commitment to upholding human rights and human dignity. Read more about Norma and her remarkable work here: https://bit.ly/49YTlxq
On International Women’s Day we celebrated Julie Sneddon, former CEO of Cana Communities. Julie was awarded the Cath Leary Social Justice Award in 2019, recognising her outstanding work, efforts and commitment to transforming the lives of vulnerable and marginalised people.
Julie started as a volunteer at Cana in 2005 and in 2017, Julie became CEO. Julie was the driving force for the establishment of Cana Farm. Under her leadership, Cana has grown to transform the lives of many individuals, through new programs, new facilities, more volunteers, community collaborations and most importantly, building relationships.
Read more about this exceptional woman here: https://bit.ly/3wFy11v
We also acknowledged the work of Angela Reed, RSM PhD. Angela was awarded the Cath Leary Social Justice Award in 2020, recognising her effort and commitment to upholding human rights and human dignity, from her early work with homeless women in Melbourne and her significant achievements in addressing gendered violence and human trafficking.
The Award recognised Angela’s pursuit of academic excellence, her life work in advocating for the rights of disadvantaged women and children and her significant contribution to addressing human trafficking.
Angela is a Sister of Mercy and the leader of Mercy International Association – Global Action at the UN, with special consultative status at the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Angela focuses on social justice and poverty eradication, seeking to change the unjust systems that cause and perpetuate poverty. She ensures that the rights of people at the grassroots are heard in decision making, global policy making and advocacy at the UN. Read more about this exceptional woman here: https://bit.ly/49GIfgL
Sisters of Mercy North Sydney
All week, we have celebrated some of the many extraordinary women we have been privileged to work with over the years.
We also celebrate the Sisters of Mercy North Sydney, who founded the Mercy Foundation, to combat poverty and disadvantage and challenge the structures and systems that contribute to social inequity.
The Sisters are true women of Mercy. Like their founders, Catherine McAuley and Ignatius Elizabeth McQuoin, we celebrate their vision, courage, commitment to social justice and compassion. They are our inspiration.
Read more about the Sisters here: https://www.nsmercy.org.au/…/the-north-sydney-mercy-story
