Her family moved to a one-roomed house in Soweto in 1947, at a time when black residence in the urban areas was still a contentious issue.
[1] Her preoccupation with the quality of life for black people in the townships moved her to be one of the pioneers of primary healthcare in the volatile, post-1976 period when suspicions were rampant.
Her life became a commitment to selfless community service, embracing mainly the marginalised groups in society, namely, abandoned children, women and widows.
Her other initiatives include pre-schools, after-school care centres, literacy programmes, a drop-in centre for individual and family disputes, workshops and training programmes on HIV and AIDS and sex education and sexuality for the youth and adults, moral enrichment and poverty alleviation.
[1] Nkwe is also a founder of Khulumani, a post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission victim-support group in Klerksdorp and the Sedibeng sa Tshepo drop-in centre in the Diocese of Matlosane.