Many students of the Vanessa Secondary& High School come from surrounding poor villages around Mbeja, a city with 300.000 inhabitants in the south of Tanzania nearby the border to Zambia. Vanessa School is a private school in Mbeja. Young persons between the age of 13 till 19 years are able to graduate with a secondary degree, including  English as secondary language. Gifted students can acquire as well A level. The graduations increase the opportunity to lead a self-determined life and to secure their own existence.