• Me and my colleague at the One-Forty graduation ceremony, celebrating the success of our learners.
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    #10 Learning Journal: Needs Assessment and Program Design

    December 15, 2024 - By 

    What Do I Do at One-Forty? One of the most common questions I get in Taiwan is, “What do you do?” This post is my attempt to explain what exactly it is that I do here. Hopefully, it will not only help others understand but also help me clarify my own thoughts about what I aim to accomplish at One-Forty — all in alignment with the organization’s mission to make “every migrant’s journey worthy and inspiring.” Who Are Our Target Populations? This is a harder question to answer than I expected. On paper, my job is to nurture One-Forty’s Indonesian…

  • A fire extinguisher mounted on a wall next to multilingual safety instructions and a rack of colorful fabric samples.
    Diary - Migrant Education - Research - Writing

    #9 Learning Journal: Taoyuan’s Fabric Factory

    November 17, 2024 - By 

    The day started early, with a quiet ride on the high-speed rail to Taoyuan. By 7:20 AM, I had joined a small group at Exit 4 of the station, ready to take a taxi to a nearby factory. This was the kickoff for One-Forty’s paThWay Program, a partnership with VF Corporation—the company behind brands like Vans and The North Face—designed to support Southeast Asian factory workers in Taiwan. The program provides lessons in Mandarin, financial literacy, and personal development to help workers make the most of their time in Taiwan and beyond. The entrance to the factory where the paThWay…

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    #8 Learning Journal: M4M Bouquet

    October 14, 2024 - By 

    Reflections on One-Forty’s Migrant for Migrant Workshop: Balancing Money, Identity, and Ideals Attending the latest One-Forty workshop left me reflecting on how identity, economics, and community shape the migrant experience. As I set aside my PhD applications for the day, I thought I’d write down my thoughts on the event and the questions it evoked in me. Setting the Scene The “Migrant for Migrant” (M4M) program is a new initiative by One-Forty aimed at empowering migrant leaders and giving them space to organize their own activities. Yesterday’s workshop, led by an Indonesian migrant entrepreneur, drew forty women who were eager…

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    #7 Learning Journal: Financial Management Class

    October 7, 2024 - By 

    Yesterday, on October 6, 2024, I spent the day immersed in One-Forty’s vibrant course environment. I started with the Indonesian financial management class in the morning, participated in a One-Forty donor event for ASML—a Dutch semiconductor company—at a separate venue, and wrapped up the day with the Chinese listening and speaking class with the Indonesian students in the afternoon. In this post, I’ll dive into my experiences and insights from the morning’s financial management session, where I observed the students’ diverse backgrounds, entrepreneurial aspirations, and the unique teaching approaches that made this class so impactful. Background: One-Forty’s Course Day for…

  • A photograph by a Filippino migrant worker
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    #6 Learning Journal: Photovoice

    September 19, 2024 - By 

    Did you know that among Taiwan’s 23 million people, over 760,000 are migrant workers employed in low-skill, low-paying industries like domestic care and factory work? This means that 1 in 33 people in Taiwan is a migrant worker, most of whom come from Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Migrant workers in Taiwan Vietnam: 256,576 Indonesia: 255,874 Philippines:154,027 Thailand: 67,954 Taiwan employs a “guest worker” system, a prevalent labour migration model in many Asian countries. Under this regime, migrant workers are hired on temporary contracts and are not allowed to immigrate or become naturalized citizens. This approach is common in…

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    #5 Learning Journal: IOM’s Reintegration Handbook

    September 5, 2024 - By 

    One-Forty and the Career Center Vision I’m now entering my third week in Taiwan, working with One-Forty while finalizing my project with IOM Indonesia. While I am thrilled with the crisis preparedness module I developed for Indonesian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) abroad, that’s a topic for another day. What I really want to share is how IOM’s Reintegration Handbook has helped me launch my new project: creating One-Forty’s very own reintegration handbook for Indonesian migrant workers. One-Forty has this amazing vision to create a Career Center for its migrant students and alumni. It’s not just a lofty idea either—this would…

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    #4 Learning Journal: Moving Overseas for Work is Hard

    August 19, 2024 - By 

    You landed at the airport, exited the gate and saw a woman holding a placard “TKI berkumpul di sini” (female migrant workers meeting point). You assumed you’d stop and wait there. I followed the English signs because I could speak English. Thankfully, almost all signs are bilingual. I had to get the metro card and train ticket to the city centre. I had to follow a Line chat from my landlord with my 30kg suitcase, down an alleyway and into an old building. I had to carry that heavy suitcase up 4 flights of stairs. That was only the beginning.…

  • A page of The Mushroom at the End of the World
    Diary - Migrant Education - Research - Writing

    #3 Learning Journal: Migration Data

    July 8, 2024 - By 

    There was a lag between the previous post and this one, and honestly, I am not really sure what to write today, despite having learned so much on the job this week. What I have found so far from my interviews with different CSOs are the following: Big organisations: diaspora, migrant workers, students The IDN Global is definitely a key player in establishing connections and networks across countries, cultures, and citizenship/migration statuses. They have the objective of promoting the dual citizenship policy. This goal helps establish formal and informal networks with Indonesians of all backgrounds. However, when it comes to…

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    #2 Learning Journal: Participatory Mapping

    June 18, 2024 - By 

    Yesterday I met with Jacquie and Uli – mentor and fellow mentee of Sun Walking’s REMS Leadership Program, respectively. Uli comes from a completely different background. He is passionate about plants as a micro subject and humans’ relationship with nature as a macro subject. Speaking about bird migration and agrotourism in Costa Rica made me think about the importance of understanding the ecosystem of the population that you are interested in. So much of what we can do to help a population thrive comes down to paying attention to the details: what is the ecosystem that they are part of? …

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    #1 Learning Journal: Introduction to Migrant Education and Entrepreneurship

    June 12, 2024 - By 

    Hello readers, I am planning to post weekly about my current interest in Indonesian migration and return. This is an idea that an advisor suggested so that I stay true to my career goal. I am hopeful that I can remain consistent because it’s set in my Reminder app. Why Indonesian Migration and Return? This year I have focused more on Indonesian migrants’ education and livelihood options. Taking a class with Professor Fernando Reimers on “Educational Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in Comparative Perspective” gave me the opportunity to explore Indonesian migrants’ educational experiences in Taiwan and the gap in migrant…