Meryl Horn was born in Durban, on the east coast of South Africa, the eldest of three.  She completed her last two years of schooling in a travelling school, part of an MRA  musical programme called Springbok Stampede.  Thereafter she had enrolled to do a teacher's training course when she was invited to attend a conference in the international MRA conference centre at Caux, Switzerland.  While there she felt a prompting from the inner voice to give all her time to the work of MRA/IofC. She has volunteered full-time and part time with MRA/IofC over the past 48 years working with programmes in several countries world wide including the UK, Australia, Brazil, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

She married Pieter in 1976 – a cross-cultural marriage – he being Afrikaans speaking, she being English speaking, both South Africans. They have two daughters, two sons-in-law and four grandchildren.

In her 50s Meryl studied to be a Montessori preschool teacher and taught children, of all South African races and some from further afield, for 9 years which she found very rewarding.