The Center for Women’s Resources Development Pasoendan (PPSW Pasoendan) is a NGO established in March 2005 which has been conducting community organising activities, especially for women involving various parties. The establishment of PPSW Pasoendan was based on women’s issues related to economic, education, health and female migrant workers that occurred in West Java and Banten.

PPSW Pasoendan seeks to foster community critical awareness, increase capacity and open access for female leadership. Efforts to realise those is done by developing and assisting women’s groups. Until the end of 2016, PPSW Pasoendan has accompanied 9,905 women belonging to 243 women’s groups, 39 Primary Cooperatives and 1 secondary cooperative in 8 regencies, 40 sub-districts and 121 villages in West Java and Banten provinces. Deposits that have been collected and managed by women group assisted by PPSW amounted to Rupiah 8,259,662,400. These funds become a source of capital for the business of group members and various other purposes such as education, health, holidays and pensions.

Assistance to female migrant workers (BMP) and their families has been conducted by PPSW Pasoendan since 2005, among others by implementing the strengthening programme for candidate Migrant Workers and their family members through increasing income and policy advocacy to prevent trafficking. In addition they work on access to information technology at Mahnetik SUCI in order to fulfill the right of information and development of productive economies in an effort to tackle poverty.Assistance to women over the age of 40 is conducted by PPSW Pasoendan through the Financial Education Programme For Mature Women conducted from 2011 to 2015. The programme provides experience to PPSW Pasoendan in working with former BMP who are over the age of 40 years and the elderly.

Why former Female Migrant Workers (BMP)?

They often experience violence and lack physical, mental, economic and social protection from when they depart from their home towns and from when they return. The National Bureau of Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers (BNP2TKI) 2013 data shows migrant workers registered 14,505 complaints of violence. 671 of those cases are from Cianjur District, making it 5th in overall national rankings.

Why the elderly?

The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) data states that in 2014 the number of elderly in Indonesia was 20.24 million (8.03% of the total population) with females at 10.77 million, including former BMP. This number will continue to increase every year, while economic, social and protection guarantees for elderly women  are still lacking. Former BMP will continue to experience this lack of guarantees as they enter their elderly phase in life.

The project Reintegrating elder former migrant workers aims to increase the participation of former female migrant workers (BMP) in pursuing social protection for the elderly former BMP. The specific goals are:

(1) Former BMP collect data on the conditions of elderly former BMP in 4 villages of Kecamatan Sukaluyu, Cianjur District. The community and the government can use this data as a baseline when implementing programmes involving the elderly.

(2) Increase capacity of elderly former BMP through critical education, and facilitating attitude and behaviour change. They can better realise their potential and be able to voice their needs through a community called Nyakola.

(3) Increase the access of elderly women to quality health services.

(4) Increase the participation of elderly former BMP in the fulfillment of health services and social protection.