Shifting Health and Education in Africa with Kristina Tester

The Shift With Skip

Kristina Tester is a 2014 graduate of Harvard University, with degrees in African and Global Health. She is the founder and executive director of So Others May Learn, a non-profit organization based in Zimbabwe and Uganda that is dedicated to providing bright and motivated students in sub-Saharan Africa with the opportunity to further their educations through comprehensive scholarships that support them through their four years of secondary school. The scholarships cover tuition, room and board, transportation, uniforms, and supplies for qualified students who would otherwise never have the opportunity to further their dreams. Kristina traveled to Uganda twice a year while in college, spending summers and winters working at the hospital and with Uganda's Ministry of Health to coordinate village health teams that could more effectively reach rural communities. Her senior thesis, titled “Increasing the Effectiveness of Healthcare Delivery to Rural Areas: A Case Study of Village Health Teams and Childhood Malnutrition in Rukungiri District, Uganda”, was awarded the Harvard Hoopes Prize for outstanding research and scholarly work, and she was the recipient of the Phillipe Wamba Prize for highest achievement in her Division. Kristina is planning to begin medical school in the fall of 2016 and hopes to combine her medical degree with a Masters in Public Health. She is committed to continuing her efforts to provide education and medical services to underserved communities at home and abroad.