Meaning
What does "Vemvane" mean?
"Vemvane" is a Zulu word which means, "the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly".
The following Vemvane story gives some insight into our favoured approach when it comes to holistic supports.
The old man and the butterfly.
"Many centuries ago, there lived a wise old man in an isolated hut in a remote part of Africa. Hedges surrounded his hut and attracted butterflies. They would lay eggs in the hedges, and caterpillars would emerge. The caterpillars would make cocoons, and each year, butterflies would hatch and fly off, returning later to restart the process. The old man loved his butterflies.
One year, the old man noticed that one cocoon remained unhatched. Concerned, he removed the twig holding the cocoon and took it into his hut. Over several days, the old man kept the cocoon warm and gently rubbed it, encouraging it to hatch. After a week, the butterfly started to dig its way out of the cocoon. The man could see it was struggling, so he proceeded to gently cut away at the cocoon to help the butterfly emerge. Once the butterfly came out, the man held it on his finger and gently blew warm breath on the butterfly.
The butterfly promptly died.
Distressed, but still wise, the old man understood what had happened. The butterfly needed to experience the cold air, and needed to struggle to get out of the cocoon. This struggle gives the butterfly strength so it can get blood into its newly-formed wings, and so it can see it needs to stretch out those wings and catch the breeze.
But, the old man had killed the caterpillar with kindness."
The Meaning Of The Story.
At Vemvane, we deeply care for every client, but we don't become the source of all their supports in life. Instead, we seek to help people while empowering their autonomy, control, and individualism. We're here to help them achieve their goals, and are proud that our approach to do so may not align with traditional approaches.