Waterarms Over Firearms: Peace Through Play in Sri Lanka
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$400 raised of
10 donations
Waterarms over Firearms is an organization working at the intersection of art, activism, and education.
Using the Super Soaker as an emblem of peaceful technology, Waterarms reframes the “water fight” as a transformative, anti-violence practice rooted in joy, consent, and community. Actions that once symbolized harm become a tool for healing.
Since 2019, Waterarms has activated projects across the United States and internationally. We organized joy centered events during the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis, consistently held interventions throughout Philadelphia and led educational workshops with youth in Ghana and Germany. Across continents, our work has created spaces where communities process trauma, reclaim public space, and rehearse nonviolent futures. In 2026, Waterarms will bring this work back to Sri Lanka.
In 2019, before Waterarms was fully formed as an organization, I traveled to Sri Lanka with a suitcase full of water guns collected from the Songkran water festival in Thailand. My intention was simple but symbolic: to share this African American invention the Super Soaker along with the joyful water traditions of Southeast Asia, with young people in a part of the island where I have deep personal connections. While my flight was in the air, terrorist attacks shook the country. By the time I landed, Sri Lanka was in mourning. I witnessed firsthand the fragility of peace and the lingering weight of sectarian violence that has shaped the island’s recent history.
That unfinished mission has stayed with me ever since. This year, with your support, I will return to Sri Lanka to complete what was started and to scale it with intention. Waterarms will collect and ship more than 400 pounds of rescued Super Soakers from Thai water festivals transforming discarded objects of play into tools for peace education. These water blasters will be placed in the hands of youth across faiths Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim with one shared message: The only guns they should ever need to carry will shoot life giving ammunition.
Beyond symbolic play, this project is educational and practical. Many of the collected Super Soakers require minor repair, creating hands on learning opportunities. Through guided workshops, young participants will:
• Learn basic plumbing and mechanical repair skills
• Explore the science of water pressure and fluid dynamics
• Discuss water conservation and responsible usage
• Reflect on how technology can be designed for harm or for healing.
Funds raised will directly support:
• Collection and international shipment of approximately 400 lbs of rescued water guns
• Local program coordination and community partnerships in Sri Lanka
• Workshop materials and repair tools
• Compensation for on the ground facilitators and youth leaders
• Documentation to share the model globally
With your help we can send a powerful message: Nonviolence does not have to be passive and this is a glimpse of what waging peace looks like.
Since 2019, Waterarms has activated projects across the United States and internationally. We organized joy centered events during the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis, consistently held interventions throughout Philadelphia and led educational workshops with youth in Ghana and Germany. Across continents, our work has created spaces where communities process trauma, reclaim public space, and rehearse nonviolent futures. In 2026, Waterarms will bring this work back to Sri Lanka.
In 2019, before Waterarms was fully formed as an organization, I traveled to Sri Lanka with a suitcase full of water guns collected from the Songkran water festival in Thailand. My intention was simple but symbolic: to share this African American invention the Super Soaker along with the joyful water traditions of Southeast Asia, with young people in a part of the island where I have deep personal connections. While my flight was in the air, terrorist attacks shook the country. By the time I landed, Sri Lanka was in mourning. I witnessed firsthand the fragility of peace and the lingering weight of sectarian violence that has shaped the island’s recent history.
That unfinished mission has stayed with me ever since. This year, with your support, I will return to Sri Lanka to complete what was started and to scale it with intention. Waterarms will collect and ship more than 400 pounds of rescued Super Soakers from Thai water festivals transforming discarded objects of play into tools for peace education. These water blasters will be placed in the hands of youth across faiths Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim with one shared message: The only guns they should ever need to carry will shoot life giving ammunition.
Beyond symbolic play, this project is educational and practical. Many of the collected Super Soakers require minor repair, creating hands on learning opportunities. Through guided workshops, young participants will:
• Learn basic plumbing and mechanical repair skills
• Explore the science of water pressure and fluid dynamics
• Discuss water conservation and responsible usage
• Reflect on how technology can be designed for harm or for healing.
Funds raised will directly support:
• Collection and international shipment of approximately 400 lbs of rescued water guns
• Local program coordination and community partnerships in Sri Lanka
• Workshop materials and repair tools
• Compensation for on the ground facilitators and youth leaders
• Documentation to share the model globally
With your help we can send a powerful message: Nonviolence does not have to be passive and this is a glimpse of what waging peace looks like.
Organizer
