Empower Women with Sustainable Livelihood

On 24–25 September 2025, INFEST Yogyakarta, in collaboration with KOPI (Komunitas Pekerja Migran), organized a Migration Management Training for Prospective Migrant Workers and Their Families in Blitar. The activity was aimed to enhance awareness of safe migration, facilitate family-based migration planning, and promoting household financial literacy.

The training was attended by 27 participants, consisting of prospective migrant workers, family members, and KOPI representatives, with the majority of participants being women. The event was officially opened by the Head of the Blitar Regency Manpower Office, who expressed appreciation for the initiative undertaken by INFEST and KOPI. In his opening remarks, he encouraged participants to make full use of the training as a foundation for realizing safe, well-prepared, and informed migration. 

Most of the prospective Indonesian migrant workers participating in the training had previous migration experience and were employed in the domestic work sector in destination countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. One participant was preparing for their first migration experience, having secured employment in the solar panel manufacturing industry in Malaysia, reflecting the growing diversity of migration pathways. 

The two-day training was delivered through a series of interactive and participatory sessions. On the first day, participants were introduced to Indonesian labor migration regulations, destination country contexts, migrant workers’ rights and obligations, complaint and protection mechanisms, and the social and economic impacts of migration on families. These sessions encouraged participants to view migration as a family decision that requires shared understanding and preparation.

On the second day, the focus shifted to maintaining communication between migrant workers and their families, as well as to financial management and planning. Participants discussed strategies for managing remittances, budgeting household expenses, and planning for long-term family needs. As a key outcome of the training, participants completed a migration planning agreement form, developed jointly with their family representatives, outlining migration objectives, financial plans, and family roles and responsibilities.

The training was facilitated by INFEST staff (Novia Putri, Sofwan Hadi, and Edi Purwanto) in collaboration with KOPI facilitators (Suliyati, Suparno, Sri Amin, and Laila Rizky), creating a collaborative learning environment that combined institutional perspectives with community experiences.

 Participants actively engaged throughout the training and reported gaining new knowledge and awareness regarding safe migration practices and the importance of thorough preparation. Pre- and post-test results indicated an improvement in participants’ understanding of migration risks, rights, and family-based planning processes.

One of the key challenges identified during the activity was the varying levels of prior knowledge and experience among participants, particularly related to financial literacy and formal migration procedures. This highlighted the need for continued learning opportunities and follow-up support.

 As a follow-up, INFEST plans to organize additional financial literacy training in mid-October 2025 to strengthen participants’ household financial management skills further and support the implementation of the migration plans developed during the training. Overall, the training was assessed by participants as very useful and contributed significantly to strengthening safe migration awareness, family preparedness, and financial planning capacity among prospective migrant workers and their families in Blitar.