Kindwaves: Building Cultures of Kindness in Schools

We are Masha and David, parents of eight amazing children between us.

In January 2024, our youngest daughter, Helena (Heli), took her own life at just thirteen years old. The devastation of losing her is beyond words. We will never fully understand how our beautiful, vibrant daughter reached such an irreversible decision.

But we do know that Heli deeply cared about how people treat each other. She often asked: “Where is all this pressure coming from?”

A Crisis We Cannot Ignore

Heli was not alone in feeling overwhelmed. Research shows that children’s risk of suicide and mental health crises drastically increases when they are in school and decreases during weekends and summer holidays.

This heartbreaking statistic highlights what many young people, parents, and educators already sense: a change is urgently needed.

A Mission Inspired by Heli

In the months following her passing, we’ve had many conversations with family, friends, educators, and children themselves. One message has come through clearly: Schools need a culture shift.

We need real kindness to be at the heart of every interaction in education.

From this, a heart project has grown—a charity dedicated to transforming school cultures with kindness. We call it Kindwaves.

What is Kindwaves?

Kindwaves is about changing the ‘us and them’ culture in schools to one where:

❤️ Students and teachers work together with joy.

❤️ Everyone feels understood, confident, and valued.

❤️ Kindness and collaboration replace control and sanctions.

A passionate teacher recently told us:

“I found my old teaching practice reports. Every one of them encouraged control methods—behavior modification techniques to keep pupils silent, still, and obedient. Reading them now is chilling. I burned out and left teaching five years ago. I dream of the day schools look completely different.”

At Kindwaves, we ask:

How We'll Create Change

We don’t offer one-size-fits-all solutions or quick fixes. Every school has strengths and challenges. Instead, we collaborate with schools to co-create cultures of kindness, tailored to their students, teachers, and leadership teams.

Our team includes:

✅ Experienced headteachers and teachers

✅ Therapists and education consultants

✅ Creatives and youth facilitators

Together, we will:

We understand that lasting change takes time. Our goal is to work long-term with schools, embedding kindness into their everyday culture.

How You Can Help

To launch Kindwaves, we are raising an initial £30,000 to:

✅ Build and run the charity

✅ Develop training programs and workshops

✅ Partner with schools to deliver our programs

Here’s how you can support us:

❤️ Donate – Any amount makes a difference. Click the button to contribute.

❤️ Visit – Visit our website: https://kindwaves.org.uk/

❤️ Stay connected – Sign up for our newsletter here!

❤️ Get involved – If you’d like to help in any way, send us a message!

The Team

Trustees

Founder & Director

Project Coordinator

Program Development and Training

Tendorium

As musicians in the group LightGarden, and as part of our healing, we have written a song, Tendorium, in tender memory of Heli - and we believe with Heli, sharing our love with you.

Thank You

Your support means the world to us. Together, we can honor Heli’s memory by creating a kinder world for children.

With gratitude,

Masha and David