Mevlude’s Story.

For Mevlude, teaching has never just been about subjects, it’s about people. Growing up in Kosovo, she remembers the difference between the teachers who truly saw her and those who didn’t. That memory has never left her. It’s why she believes so deeply that every child deserves to feel noticed, supported and encouraged to grow into who they are.

“I don’t want children to leave school with just knowledge,” she says. “I want them to leave with confidence, kindness and the sense that they matter.”

As a teacher and as a mother she knows how hard it can be to give so much of yourself. For a long time, she poured her energy entirely into her pupils. But the Fellowship gave her a turning point: a recognition that she could not keep giving without also restoring herself. “I realised I can only breathe out what I have breathed in,” she reflects. “When I take time to care for my own wellbeing, I can be present in a much stronger way for my children.”

In her classroom, this shift is tangible. She builds in listening circles where every voice is heard, wonder walks that reconnect children to the natural world, and small rituals of kindness that weave care into the everyday. These practices are simple, but they change the atmosphere, children become calmer, more connected and more willing to open up to each other.

For Mevlude, this is what education should be: not an add-on of wellbeing but a whole culture built upon it. She imagines schools where care for self, others and the earth are at the centre, alive, joyful places where children feel resourced to face the future.

“Education is about preparing children for life,” she says. “If they leave us knowing how to be kind, how to look after themselves and how to care for their community, then we have done something truly meaningful.”

Listen to the full conversation with Mevlude.