Who are the Sisters of St. Therese?

An indigenous congregation of religious women, founded in Cameroon in 1963, with a special concern for raising the status of women.

Our story

We, the Sisters of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, are an indigenous congregation of female religious founded in 1963 by Bishop Jules Peeters, a Mill Hill Missionary and Bishop of Buea at the time. More than sixty years on, we are over one hundred Sisters, with many more in training.

Our mission is to spread the Gospel of Christ and to promote social justice for all, especially the marginalised. We have a special concern for raising the status of women and helping them to be self-reliant.

We serve in schools, health institutions, pastoral centres, women’s empowerment centres and prisons, in 22 places across Cameroon: seven towns and fifteen villages.

Our mission in Sabongari

Give women access to training and income-generating skills: farming, handicrafts, tailoring, knitting, embroidery and bead making.
Encourage women to save for difficult days and to create small businesses of their own.
Teach women about their rights and a healthy lifestyle, opening a path to a new life for themselves and their children.
Listen, counsel and mentor, so that women regain their dignity, inner strength and values.
Help women to create jobs for themselves.