“2026 marks the launch of a new campaign by one of Australia’s oldest Catholic international development agencies, Palms International Volunteering”, said its Executive Director Soraya Kassim.
“We are launching Simplicity September as a distillation of the wisdom of the last 65 years of our operation.”
The essence of the Simplicity September campaign is to challenge Catholics across Australia to examine their own lives and consider whether there are elements of complexity which do not serve their purpose and/or damage healthy relationships with themselves, their family, their community, and with God.
“We have five major themes for the campaign: food, exercise and mental and physical health; reconnecting with nature and spirit; sustainability, self-sufficiency and living within our means; strengthening family and community building; and rediscovering creativity,” Ms Kassim said.
“Each of these themes is inspired by the experience of our long-term volunteers in the field.”
Palms International Volunteering sends skilled volunteers for placements of one to two years in response to requests from partner communities in the Asia-Pacific.
The skills requested are extremely varied – teachers, health personnel, trades, agricultural specialists, accountants and business advisers – but participants invariably return after placement indicating that they learnt as much (or more) than they went to teach.
“One of the main things we hear from our Palms ‘returnees’ is that, after a period of initial adjustment, they are struck by the beauty of simple living,” Ms Kassim said.
Simplicity September is a fundraiser for Palms. Participants choose their challenge for the month and undertake it as an experiment in habit formation for their own lives.
They get sponsored by friends and relatives, who act as their accountability partners as they navigate the month, introducing new routines or removing elements they can do without, and reflecting on the difference they make.
“September is the Season of Creation,” Ms Kassim continued.
“What better time of the year to develop a new habit consistent with our ‘reconnecting with nature and spirit’ theme? Perhaps committing to a weekly bushwalk – however short – or teaching your kids how to fish, or home-grow vegetables?”
The campaign is non-prescriptive but offers a range of suggestions from giving up refined sugar or limiting social media screen time, to decluttering the cupboard, committing to Sunday family dinners, or reading a novel at night instead of a work report.
You can participate as an individual, in a work team context, as a class at school, or as a family.
Proceeds go to support the work of Palms to recruit, train and support volunteers working in our region.
Palms receives no government funding and exists entirely on the generosity of donations.
The Simplicity September campaign is a new avenue for Catholics around Australia to engage with the work of Palms and simultaneously re-engage with what matters in our own lives.
For more information go to www.simplicityseptember.org.au email palms@palms.org.au or call 472 2 472 567.