School produces professional domestic workers

School produces professional domestic workers

Singgir Kartana, Contributor, Yogyakarta

"Come on, take my picture. I can drive now," Sukati, a 22-year-
old housemaid, said. Her hands were on the steering wheel of a
minivan. Several other young women, who were in the vehicle, also
made the same request and started to pose for pictures.

The young women were all cheerful and proud of their new
skill, thanks to the Household Workers' School, which teaches
them many new things, including English and computer operating
programs.

Suprapti, a 19-year-old villager from Gunungkidul, said that
she was thrilled after being able to operate the computer.

"It's much easier to type on a computer than a typewriter. If
you make a mistake, you can just delete it. I can now write a
letter on the computer," said the housemaid, who had never
touched a computer before.

The Household Workers' School was established in July by a
non-government organization (NGO) called Tjoet Njak Dien Women
Forum with help from the Ford Foundation and several women's
groups concerned with domestic workers.

The activists rent a 600-square-meter building on Jl. Nitikan
Baru 25, Yogyakarta, for the school. It has several classrooms
and a student dormitory.

The school has the three majors of householding, which teaches
students about cooking and the skills to handle other household
chores, babysitting and nursing of the elderly.

A total of 50 students are currently studying at the school.
They are between 15 and 35-years old and come from various areas
in the provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java, like Magelang,
Surakarta and Sragen.

The students are poor villagers and mostly are only elementary
school graduates. Some have no work experiences at all.

The NGO set up the school due to their concerns for the
domestic workers who are marginalized and looked down on by
society.

Since they usually work long hours -- from early in the
morning before the employers wake up until after the family have
eaten dinner -- the workers do not have spare time for themselves
to develop their interests and learn new things.

The fact that many of the workers are not professional has
resulted in their low bargaining power. Not only do they earn
little, most of the time they are also treated poorly by their
employers -- mentally and physically.

"Therefore we try to improve their skills and broaden their
minds. We also encourage them to care about their colleagues and
to organize," NGO director Lita Anggraini said.

The Union of Domestic Helpers in Yogyakarta was established in
April to help them overcome problems related to their profession.

The school, the first of its kind, empowers the students and
teaches them to be gender sensitive. They also learn about
solidarity and pluralism.

Besides the main lessons, like cooking and housekeeping, the
school also has reproduction and human rights classes. In
addition, students learn about traditional treatment, including
how to make traditional medicines or jamu.

The program lasts seven months. Two months for the theory and
five months for the practice. They learn three times a week and
each session lasts for 90 minutes.

The teaching staff are professionals from different
institutions, like the Yogyakarta Language Institute, the
Tarakanita Academy of Social Welfare, and also from the Tjoet
Njak Dien Women Forum.

The NGO also changed the term for PRT, which stands for
Pembantu Rumah Tangga, from the Household Helpers to the
Household Workers because they do not only help but they do all
the work.

The school recruits students by spreading the information
through the media and brochures. Courses and also the dormitory
for those coming outside Yogyakarta are free.

"We prioritize accepting the poor, especially graduates of
elementary schools or junior high schools who cannot afford
higher education. But we also accept those who have already
worked," Zainuddin, the school principal and activist of Tjoet
Njak Dien Women Forum, said.

The students will receive a certificate upon graduation. Tjoet
Njak Dien Women Forum also offers job placements for its
graduates. Unlike domestic worker agencies, the NGO does not
charge any fee. However, the graduates are also free to find any
job by themselves.

Zainuddin said the school aimed to produce professional
household workers so the graduates would have a better bargaining
position. They are also expected to have the ability to organize
their colleagues.

"We do not mean to encourage them to change the profession,"
he said.

But some students had another idea. They hoped their new
skills would enable them to get better jobs.

"Who wants to be a housemaid for life? After I get married, I
will find another job," said Heni, chairwoman of the Yogyakarta
Household Workers Union.