Mary Chilima Biography
Mary Nkhamanyachi Chilima was born on November 3, 1980, in Blantyre.
She grew up in Blantyre, in neighborhoods like Zingwangwa, Namiwawa, and Chilomoni.
Her mother was a lecturer at the polytechnic.
She is the first child in a family of only two: her and her brother.
Mary Chilima Education
Mary completed her basic education at Chichiri Basic and South End before continuing to Our Lady of Wisdom in Limbe, where she was the deputy head girl and received the highest MSCE score.
She was admitted to Polytechnic and earned a Bachelor’s degree in business administration.
She then held several positions at the Reserve Bank of Malawi, Standard Bank, and FMB.
Mary Chilima Family
Her family is blessed with two children: a 15-year-old son who attends Kamuzu Academy and an 8-year-old daughter.
Mary Chilima receives her second master’s degree and wins accolades
Mary Chilima was one of just two students accepted automatically into the Gordon Institute of Business Studies’ doctoral program.
She also received six distinguished academic prizes, making her the graduate with the most awards on graduation day.
Mary is married to Vice President Saulos Chilima. She is an avid reader.
She was born November 3, 1980, in Zingwangwa Township, Blantyre.
The award winner smashed records at the University of Pretoria last week when she received her second master’s degree with excellence.
Mary comes from a family with two children. Their parents parted a few years after the birth of her younger brother.
Raising two daughters as a single parent, her mother Margaret Kamoto instilled in them the value of perseverance and hard work in all aspects of their lives.
She went on to maintain top-class ranks and was the best performer at Our Lady of Wisdom Secondary School in Blantyre in 1996, scoring 13 points.
She also earned the most honors after that year, and her current success is similar to that moment 27 years ago.
Following her outstanding high school performance, she was chosen to pursue her first choice, Business Administration, at the University of Malawi’s Polytechnic, becoming the youngest in her class.
“After completing my first degree, I worked for the Reserve Bank of Malawi under Malswitch.”
I then transferred to First Capital Bank, and ultimately to Standard Bank.
“During this time, I earned a professional diploma in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing [CIM], followed by a Master of Science in Strategic Management from the University of Derby.
These certifications were aligned with my job goals at the time,” she explains.
In 2013, she decided to leave the rat race to seek a career in education, although at the entry level of nursery and elementary schools.
However, she did not pursue that desire; instead, as Second Lady of Malawi, she chose to focus on her entrepreneurial endeavors.
Mary now manages two retail apparel businesses, Exquisite Edge, in Lilongwe and Blantyre, and has recently developed an interest in the mining industry.
Despite this, her ambition to work in education, particularly academia, remained strong.
As a result, with the support and encouragement of her husband, family, and close friend Thokozani Unyolo, she set out on a quest to earn a doctorate in business management with the goal of one day becoming a professor of business studies.
Mary sees that this underlying dream has been passed down via a long line of professors and lecturers in her family.
“Both my great grandfather, Vito Mtuwana, and grandmother, Mary Mtuwana Kamoto, were teachers, and my mother was a lecturer at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (Mubas) for 20 years.
I, too, dabbled in lecturing at a private college in my youth, which piqued my interest in teaching,” she recalls.
She claims that the newly earned qualification—a Master of Philosophy in Business Management—is a stepping stone toward higher academic goals.
“accomplishing it with a distinction and other accolades reinforces my belief that I am on the right track to accomplishing my objective.
The rewards range from specific modules to being the top student and writing the best research paper in my cohort.
It was extremely gratifying to find out that I earned the most accolades during my graduation ceremony.
“As the only Malawian in my cohort, I was extremely proud of this accomplishment,” says the mother of two.
While conceding that she may be more affluent than others, Mary adds that her most important lesson thus far has been that with commitment, hard work, and perseverance, dreams may come true.
“Having a hard-working mother who was not bound by her gender taught me that being a girl does not have to limit my goals.
I also recognize that having a loving spouse who promotes and facilitates the pursuit of my goals makes all of this feasible.
“Having the appropriate types of friends can also boost one’s objectives.
I am surrounded by relatives and friends who are thriving in their separate occupations, and I do not want to be left behind.
Though I am honored to be Malawi’s Second Lady, I recognize that I can and should do more,” she says.
Despite her practice of encouraging others to pursue their aspirations, Mary is aware that many young Malawians confront numerous obstacles in their pursuit of education.
She goes on to say that the country’s youth have a disadvantage on the playing field.
She adds, “Progress to further education is not guaranteed as they compete for secondary school selection.
I hope that ongoing initiatives to increase the number of secondary schools would eliminate this barrier, allowing all children to immediately enroll in a secondary school of their choice.
Nonetheless, she acknowledges that the problem exists at the tertiary level and hopes that like-minded individuals would band together to establish and operate a noteworthy private university to supplement existing schools.
Mary would be delighted to collaborate with others on such an initiative.
Despite the current hurdles, the Second Lady encourages girls to pursue their education and avoid early marriages and other seemingly easier choices.
She claims she endured various hardships growing up, stating that while attending largely private schools, school payments were not always guaranteed.
“My mother would finish her day work and then teach evening sessions to make ends meet.
She then founded her secretarial college, Maggie’s Commercial School, which introduced me to entrepreneurship.
“I would leave early in the morning to mop the floors at Maggie’s before heading to school.”
“While at university, I spent my vacations learning and teaching at my mother’s secretarial college,” she explains.
A crucial takeaway she gained from that moment was that success necessitates humility—that one must be willing to get their hands filthy to complete the task.
“I have maintained this mindset throughout my endeavors and owe my success to it.
It also helps that my husband is down-to-earth and humble, always willing to serve others regardless of his position.
Fellow churchgoers can attest to this,” claims the ambitious academician.
She also encourages young people to avoid early marriages, as well as drug and alcohol misuse.
“Life is continuously changing. Wealth and status are not guaranteed, but education cannot be taken away.
“There is a time for everything, and in an age of instant gratification, patience and prayer are essential,” she says.
Mary Chilima Instagram
How many children does Saulo Chilima have?
Personal Life. Chilima was married to Mary Chilima. They had two children: Sean and Elizabeth.
