For the Voice project PPSW Jakarta focuses on elderly women in East and South Jakarta. Why the Elderly? Because Indonesia nowadays has entered the ‘Booming Ageing’. Total of elderly in 2014 reached 20.24 millions or about 8,03% of the total society in Indonesia. Why focusing on women? It is not only because the total of elderly women is more than elderly men, but also because the elderly women have less access to economy and social security and to employment opportunities. The elderly widows also have less chance to remarry. It is all about gender issues.

The main goal of this programme is to improve the quality of lives of elderly women, and the specific goal is
(1) to improve elderly women’s access to Dana Hari Tua (DHT / Retirement Fund) and Dana Resiko Bersama (DASIMA / Risk Mutual Fund) through women cooperatives,
(2) to improve elderly women’s access to social services (education and health),
(3) to improve elderly women leaders’ capacity and participation through Balai Peduli Lansia (Elderly Care Center) in synergy with Posyandu Lansia (Integrated Services Center for the Elderly), and
(4) to raise public awareness to decrease discriminatory treatment and stigma through various public campaign in print and social media, and also through Elderly Care Festival.

To reach those goals, PPSW Jakarta implements some activities such as:
(1) cultivating women leaders at the grassroots level
(2) building an Elderly Care Centre
(3) critical education for women leaders and elderly women
(4) building social protection mechanism for elderly women
(5) facilitating elderly women to get membership of Agency for the Provision of Social Security Health (BPJS)
(6) doing public campaign to decrease stigma and discriminatory treatment on elderly women.

“Caring for the elderly through a family approach”

“Realising healthy, productive and independent elderly“

These were just some of the slogans used in PPSW Jakarta’s door-to-door sticker campaign. The campaign aimed to change perceptions about the elderly, from being seen as a burden to their families to being healthy, productive, and independent citizens. This same spirit was used throughout the grant.

Over 12 months, PPSW Jakarta has:

1. Supported 1,114 elderly women to contribute 141,410,219 IDR (approx. 8,750 EUR) to an Old Age Fund through three cooperatives, which they can access during their retirement
2. Supported 613 elderly women to contribute 18,597,730 IDR (approx. 1,150 EUR) to a Joint Risk Fund, which they can access during times of great need; and
3. Facilitated access of 279 elderly women to their community Elderly Care Centres, providing various social services such as health and financial education.

These achievements would not have happened without an empowerment and influencing process within and of the elderly women themselves.

Through the project:

1. Twenty elderly women were trained to be community leaders to coordinate and lead activities at the Centres as well as encourage other elderly women to go for health checks;
2. Twenty-five to 60 elderly women attended consultation meetings with their provincial health offices, provincial social offices, community centres, and other government agencies to successfully influence them in developing and providing elderly-friendly services (e.g. health care provision, activity rooms, mobility-friendly offices).

Awareness-raising also played a significant part in the project. Apart from the sticker campaign, PPSW Jakarta organised an Elderly Festival which gathered elderly women and key stakeholders to amplify their campaign. Social media also became a platform for the organisation to provide regular updates on their activities, from their community health exercises to meetings with relevant community service providers.

Through their activities and success the women grew confident to continue the work of strengthening their communities with other elderly women, be more involved in the cooperatives and elderly care centres and demand the social services they need. There is still much work to be done, and PPSW Jakarta and the women leaders mentioned the impact of the short-term campaign remained limited. More awareness-raising needs to happen among family members to change their perceptions of the elderly. Lastly, not everyone who participated in the project lives close to the elderly-friendly services that their local governments offer. There is a need to influence local authorities on how to bring these services closer to their homes.