ON SUNDAYS, WE PLAY

Chapter 4
Pagbangon

Lumipas ang mga araw, napagtanto ko na lahat ng bagay ay may dahilan.
Hindi tayo bibigyan ng Diyos ng mga problema na hindi natin kayang tiisin.
Kailangan kong mabuhay.

At kaya bumaling ako sa isang bagay na magpapasaya sa akin: ang laro ng
volleyball. Nakahanap ako ng mga teammates sa Despicable Warriors team at sa No Fear Team na kasama ko tuwing Linggo. Dahil sa volleyball, nagkaroon ako ng mga bagong kaibigan, mga taong handang makinig sa hinanakit ng bawat isa.
Sa tuwing naglalaro ako, pansamantalang nawawala sa isip ko ang mga problema ko.

Ngayon, may saya na naman ako sa puso ko. Dahil alam ko na hindi lang sa
Pilipinas ang pamilya ko kundi pati na rin sa Singapore. Ang aking mga kasamahan sa volleyball ay ang aking pangalawang pamilya. Binibigyan nila ako ng payo, pinapasaya ako kapag may problema ako, pinapalakas ang loob ko kapag nalulungkot ako.

Sa volleyball, napagtanto ko na, ‘Your team becomes your FAMILY, the ball
becomes your BEST FRIEND, the court becomes your HOME and the game
becomes YOUR LIFE.’

On Sundays, We Play
by Kristine Aquino, James Loganathan, Selvaraj Velayutham, Amanda Wise

On Sundays, We Play is a photography exhibit, short film and photobook documenting ‘game day’ among hundreds of Filipina migrant domestic helpers who gather every Sunday to play social volleyball on Old Terminal Lane, the site of Singapore’s first airport, now largely a disused and forgotten place in the city. In this interstitial space, Filipina migrant domestic workers find respite from the quasi-incarceration they experience in their everyday lives and shed their docile and subservient working selves to emerge as boisterous, strong and unencumbered bodies.

A collaboration between a team of sociologists and photographers, led by Filipino-Australians Dr Kristine Aquino and James Loganathan, the works are co-produced with the migrant domestic worker volleyball community in Singapore, HOME Singapore (Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics Singapore), and Migrant Writers of Singapore. The photobook is published by Philippine- based feminist press, Gantala Press. The project is funded by a Social Impact Grant from the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion at the University of Technology Sydney, and an Australian Research Council Discovery Project Award.

The works include:

Documentary photography of the kaleidoscopic migrant domestic worker ‘volleyball scene’;
Portrait photography of the diverse faces in this social world – from league organisers, MVPs to glamorous team muses;
Short film composed of interviews with migrant domestic worker volleyballers;
Photobook – 120 pages of ethnographic and portrait photography (with key images featured in exhibition) + original poetry and creative reflections from the volleyballers expressing their experiences and feelings about Sunday game days. Published by feminist press, Gantala Press, proceeds from sales of the photobook go towards assisting the running costs of the migrant domestic workers’ social volleyball leagues.

Publication Year: 2024
Language: English, Filipino
Format: Print
Pages: 120
Size: 8.25” x 7”
Selling Price: Php 1,000. All proceeds will support the volleyballers in Kallang.