Mary Blewitt OBE is a remarkable woman. A British citizen of Rwandan origin, Mary founded the charity Survivors Fund (SURF) to support survivors of the genocide in Rwanda. In 2008 she was awarded the OBE for her tireless work for this charity. In addition, Mary was included in the Swiss government’s 1000 Women for The Nobel Peace Prize 2005 project and honoured with a UK Woman of the Year award in 2006.
Mary Blewitt OBE
After retiring from the charity, having dedicated 15 years of her life to this cause, Mary embarked on the next stage of her career. She took up a fellowship at the Robert F Wagner School for Public Service at New York University to research ways of dealing with trauma and subsequently trained as a complementary therapist, focusing on treatments that relieve daily stress and pain. Mary learned that one of the primary reasons why the human body develops physical pain and general problems is due to stress.
The exterior of the Nile Spa, Kampala
When the body is stressed, muscles become tight, tense and inflexible. Circulation is affected and over time, muscle fibres become dry, rigid and dysfunctional. Mary deals with specific causes of the body’s stress and advises clients how to cope with their anxieties in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
A treatment room at the Nile Spa, Kampala
At the beginning of this year Mary put her training to good use to help others by founding the Nile Spa, offering a variety of holistic treatments including massage, reflexology and beauty therapies to rejuvenate both the mind and body. Products used at the Nile Spa include Essential Oils, Thai Skin Therapy and the Amagara range, made locally in Uganda. The Nile Spa’s rejuvenating experience guarantees to whisk its clients into a relaxing and tranquil state where they can re-charge and re-energise.
by Amanda Bernstein