[1] She was born on 30 September 1953;[citation needed] she comes from Mwazisi village, T/A Chikulamayembe, in Rumphi District, in the northern part of Malawi.

Chakwera was raised in the northern part of Malawi.

She is an accountant[2] and a qualified social worker[3] with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social work from the University of the North, in South Africa.

[citation needed] Chakwera founded the Shaping Our Future Foundation, an organization that is concerned with the development of the village girl.

It was not funded by the government but by large companies.