Palms Australia

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Palms Australia is an international aid and development agency that sends skilled volunteers to share their skills with requesting communities around the world.

Palms Australia's national office is based in Sydney, although state coordinators are located throughout Australia. Established in 1961, Palms has placed volunteers with communities and organisations in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, South America and in indigenous communities in Australia.

Palms Australia supports community development by sending volunteers at the request of the receiving communities. Volunteers work alongside local people and receive an equivalent living wage.

History

Palms Australia started in Sydney in 1956 as the Paulian Association. Groups formed in around 100 communities to identify local social justice issues, reflect on values and take appropriate action to address social inequality and assist people in need.

After identifying that similar issues needed to be addressed globally, in 1961, the program was extended to communities overseas which request the placement of skilled volunteers to assist develop health, education and other facilities. Palms volunteers is places in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, including communities in Tanzania, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and indigenous Australia.

Vision

Palms' vision is to participate in and develop networks that link and engage people across cultures in order to cooperate in reducing poverty and achieve a just, sustainable, interdependent and peaceful world.

Mission

Palms' mission is to build the capacity of individual and strengthen institutions through the exchange of knowledge and skills between Palms Australia's Global Volunteers and partner communities.

To engage Australian communities and partner communities through Global Volunteers so that each increases their awareness and enthusiasm to encourage just, sustainable, interdependent and peaceful development.

To advance mutually enriching and challenging relationships of understanding, acceptance and care, to the point of sharing worlds of meaning in the deepest sense, with people of a culture different from one's own.

Values

Solidarity is the key energising value of Palms Australia. Solidarity is a principle arising out of our reflection that all living creatures are interdependent and that relationship invites responsibility and therefore solidarity.

Solidarity involves liberation of victims, oppressors and innocent bystanders, allowing all life to live to the full and is not about a vague sort of compassion or shallow distress at others' misfortune. The more who achieve this potential in life, the greater will be the contribution of all to a common or universal good.

In valuing solidarity we value love that is lived out in respect for the dignity of all life. We value humility lived out in personal integrity and responsibility. We value justice lived out in a willingness to challenge structures that prevent collective participation in creative solutions.

The interaction of these values calls us to further values. The interface of love and humility suggests transparency. The interface of humility and justice suggests ecological sensitivity. The interface of justice and love suggests participative community building. The interface of love, humility and justice gives grace to the value of peace. Movement to such a deep peace will be a movement to solidarity.

The Fair Trade Coffee Company

In 2006 Palms Australia established The Fair Trade Coffee Company, a not-for-profit, community cafe. All proceeds from the cafe go towards funding Palms' work. In 2008, The Fair Trade Coffee Company won the 'Best Coffee in Sydney' award from the independent media group. What started as a social entrepreneurial initiative to raise funds for Palms' poverty alleviating work, has now become a landmark community cafe buzzing with community initiated activities and events.

In May 2009, World Fair Trade Day was marked with dances and drum beats from community drummers and dancers coming from all over Sydney, the event held outside the cafe overflowed into the streets of Glebe Point Road (a major street in Sydney). The event made Sydney one of 10 global cities marking the theme of the day to 'Make a Big Bang to Beat Poverty'. The event was part of a series of global poverty alleviation awareness raising events marking 'Fair Trade Fortnight'. The event itself attracted a crowd of over 700 people within 1½ hours.