Elderly care: The visible and invisible

Tumirah’s journey as a caregiver for family member

Tumirah is a single mother from Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, raising a young daughter while caring for her elderly mother. Every day, she wakes up at 02:00 a.m. to prepare snacks to sell. With help from her daughter, she boils water for drinks and cooks rice with simple dishes for the day’s meals.

After performing the Fajr prayer, Tumirah walks around her village to sell her snacks, while her daughter stays home with her grandmother. Upon returning, she helps her mother get ready for the day, while her daughter prepares for school.

“After selling, I take care of my mother – bathing her, giving her a massage, feeding her and bringing her to the front of the house so she can enjoy the warmth and take in the surroundings. It helps keep her from feeling bored,” Tumirah shared.

I have four siblings, but three of them have completely handed over the responsibility of caring for our mother to me.

She used to live in Wonosari, about 10 kilometres away, with her husband and daughter. After her husband passed away, she worked at a food stall to support her family. But when her mother fell ill, she had to quit her job as there was no one else to care for her.

“I have four siblings, but three of them have completely handed over the responsibility of caring for our mother to me. They occasionally send money for food and daily needs, but most of the burden falls on me,” she added.

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In addition to her caregiving responsibilities, Tumirah diligently manages household chores and cultivates her corn farm, which serves as her primary source of income. She heads to the fields once her daughter returns from school, balancing her role as a caregiver with the demands of farming to support her family’s daily needs

“Praise the Lord, my harvest turned out well this time. I’m hopeful I can save enough to cover my daughter’s school fees, my mother’s medical expenses and our daily meals,” she said. “I pray the next harvest is even better so I can start a small business.”

My mother is elderly and my child is still in school, yet we haven’t received any support. I don’t understand why. Meanwhile, my elderly neighbour across the street has been receiving it.

She’s puzzled as to why her family hasn’t been included in the government’s Family Hope Programme (PKH), which has been available since 2021. PKH is an Indonesian initiative launched in 2007 that provides conditional cash transfers to the country’s poorest and most vulnerable households.

“My mother is elderly and my child is still in school, yet we haven’t received any support. I don’t understand why. Meanwhile, my elderly neighbour across the street has been receiving it,” she said.

“Tumirah dreams of earning a stable income by working in the city, hoping to provide better care for her mother and a good education for her daughter. But with no one else to look after her mother, she quietly admits, “I have no choice but to stay.”

Bintari’s journey as a professional caregiver

Meanwhile in Bekasi, West Java Bintari Septiana Rachmawati, a mother of three, serves as a professional nurse at the Integrated Centre of Pangudi Luhur in Bekasi, an institution under the Ministry of Social Affairs that provides social, family, and community-based rehabilitation programmes.

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Her day begins at home, preparing breakfast for her husband and children. After dropping her kids off at school, she heads to the Centre, where she and her team follow a structured routine of caring for elderly residents. 

“Nursing has always been my passion,” Bintari shared. “I studied in the Nursing Programme in Purwokerto, Central Java before joining the Centre.”

Whatever they need, it is our duty to help. We must carry out our work with sincerity and dedication. Not out of obligation, but out of genuine compassion.

Each day, she monitors the general health of the elderly under her care: checking blood pressure, assessing their condition and managing their medications. But her responsibilities extend beyond routine care. She remains on standby at all times, even during holidays, ready to respond to emergencies such as respiratory failure or cardiac arrest.

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“At this nursing home, we encourage the elderly to stay active and creative through a range of programmes from entertainment to skill-building activities,” she explained. 

The Centre offers initiatives designed to enhance concentration, memory and social interaction. “We create a space where they can laugh, connect with one another, and feel a sense of togetherness,” Bintari added.

To her, caring for the elderly is deeply personal. “Whatever they need, it is our duty to help. We must carry out our work with sincerity and dedication. Not out of obligation, but out of genuine compassion,” she said.

The ILO support to strengthen aged-care services

Despite the recognition of paid workers for the elderly, particularly in government- and privately-owned elderly shelters, Early Dewi Nuriana, ILO’s Programme Manager for the Care Economy, admitted that most of the population remains reluctant to place their parents in nursing homes, as this is still often perceived as a form of social abandonment of elderly parents.

“By 2030, over 14 percent of the population will be aged 60 and above, marking Indonesia’s entry into an aging society,” she said. “Yet with most workers in the informal sector lacking pension coverage, the responsibility of elder care falls on those of working age. Tumirah’s story in Yogyakarta highlights how this burden is worsened by minimal or nonexistent social assistance, for both the elderly and the families caring for them.”

Therefore, she underscored the urgent need for balanced recognition and reward for care workers – both unpaid (family) and paid. “This is crucial to ensure that the elderly, whether cared for at home or in institutions, can remain healthy and productive. Furthermore, the burden borne by caregivers, particularly unpaid care workers within the family, needs to be acknowledged and integrated into existing social assistance schemes,” she concluded.

By 2030, over 14 percent of the population will be aged 60 and above, marking Indonesia’s entry into an aging society. Yet with most workers in the informal sector lacking pension coverage, the responsibility of elder care falls on those of working age.

Early Dewi Nuriana, ILO’s Programme Manager for the Care Economy