UWCScholar :: Browsing by Author "Conradie, Ina"

Browsing by Author "Conradie, Ina"

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Adolescents' knowledge, attitudes and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS in Valhalla Park: an exploratory study
(University of the Western Cape, 2008) Isaacs, Conrad Henry; Conradie, Ina; Institute for Social Development; Faculty of Arts
In South Africa there is still a substantial amount of prejudice towards people living with Aids (PLA). Initially, Aids was seen as a 'gay' disease, then a 'black' disease. People thus tended to avoid high-risk groups rather than high-risk behaviour, and denied their own vulnerability by displacing the disease to an 'other' who did not belong to 'their' group. This study focuses on factors that influence and motivate adolescents' behavior towards HIV/AIDS at Beauvallon High School in Valhalla Park; an impoverished, peri-urban and previously coloured only community.
The application of Sen's Capability approach to selected women in Khayelitsha
(University of the Western Cape, 2007) Sawyer, Asha; Conradie, Ina; Institute for Social Development; Faculty of Arts
Measuring poverty adequately is critical for any type of development project, and yet there are still no clear guidelines as to which approach is best to be used for different circumstances. There is a variety of different ways of measuring and understanding poverty, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the intended goal. This research explored the theory regarding poverty and poverty measurements, and research various perspectives ranging from income to basic needs, socail exclusion, sustainable livelihoods, and finally to the Human Development Approach.
Aspirations and capabilities: the design and analysis of an action research project in Khayelitsha, Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2013) Conradie, Ina; May, Julian; Robeyns, Ingrid
The central theme of the study is whether deliberate actions to realise aspirations can and would be likely to increase capabilities amongst the poor, and whether such attempts might reduce poverty. Capabilities are seen here as real opportunity sets which people can use to achieve what they want to be or do (Sen, 1990:43-44). In addition Amartya Sen also emphasises the important role of agency in the achievement of capabilities (Sen, 1985). The relationship between aspirations, agency and capabilities is therefore explored, with emphasis on whether people can escape a potential poverty trap by deliberate and focused use of agency. I also ask what role structural opportunities and constraints play in this process.The study has been largely inspired by the idea of Arjun Appadurai (2004) that the poor might be constrained in their efforts to escape poverty because they lack the capacity to aspire, as they might have been socialised to accept that their aspirations would not be realisable. This idea was tested in a five year action research programme in Site C, Khayelitsha, near Cape Town. The dissertation offers an analysis of the programme in which a group of women was assisted in voicing their aspirations and subsequently worked on the realisation of these aspirations with a limited amount of support and facilitation by the researcher. Although many papers have been written on the social and economic implications of Appadurai’s idea, both within and external to the human development approach, the practical implementation of the idea in a project seems to be novel. The analysis of aspirations and capabilities is contextualised in the dissertation. The history and migration of the participating women show how their lives have been shaped by colonialism, apartheid, and their own cultural practices. This is followed by a discussion of the literature which informs the research and the analysis. The capability approach is discussed with particular reference to its conceptual tools, and the differences in the approaches of Sen and Nussbaum are briefly described. I review the ways in which capabilities are generally measured, and discuss the perspectives of different authors on individualism in the approach. Adaptation and agency as seen from the perspective of the capability approach provide important conceptual material for the analysis in a later chapter. A number of studies which assessed capabilities by qualitative means are then briefly reviewed, and these again provide background information for the analysis of the Khayelitsha study. The study on the use of agency in the capability approach reveals that there are lacunae, which could possibly be addressed by amplification from other disciplines. With this in mind agency is further explored in different disciplines – economics, psychology and social theory. Particular attention is given to three classical theorists of agency, Giddens, Bourdieu and Habermas, but the work of Archer, Latour, Long and Joas is also reviewed. I then recommend that the capability approach would benefit from a hermeneutical analysis of agency, and indicate specific elements which I think can be brought forward into such an extension. The literature review also includes a section on aspirations, which takes account of the conceptual relationship between aspirations, agency and capabilities. The empirical material is introduced under the umbrella of an action research programme which spanned a five year period. As part of this programme there was a household survey to obtain benchmark data. This was followed by the presentation of a life skills course based on Participatory Action Research or PRA methods. Between late 2006 and 2010 the women implemented their decisions, and their actions were observed. The main research process during this phase was an ethno-methodological study of the participating women. During this phase a number of life histories were recorded and I also conducted a set of individual interviews which focussed on individual agency. In 2010 I assessed the women’s increase in functionings and capabilities by taking note of actions taken towards achieving their aspirations, and in 2012 I recorded seven interviews on the rural-urban dynamics in their lives. The main findings of the household survey are given in a separate chapter on research findings. The different recordings of the aspirations the women articulated, and how these changed, are also recorded in the chapter on findings. The analysis of the respondents’ increase in functionings and capabilities is done with reference to an adaptation of a diagram published by Robeyns (2005:98), which visualises the essential conceptual parts of the capability approach. I adapt the diagram for a specific social context, for aspiration formulation, for agency assessment, and for the assessment of increased capabilities. In a second analysis chapter I do a hermeneutic agency analysis of six of the participating women in the context of the capability approach, asking whether the pursuit of their aspirations had been agency-unlocking. This is followed by a concluding chapter.
Aspirations and human development interventions
(Taylor & Francis, 2013) Conradie, Ina; Robeyns, Ingrid
What role can aspirations play in small-scale human development interventions? In this paper, we contribute to answering that question with both conceptual and empirical work. Aspirations can play at least two roles in small-scale human development interventions: the capabilities-selecting role and the agency-unlocking role. While aspirations also face the challenge of adaptation to adverse circumstances and unjust social structures, we argue that this challenge can be met by embedding the formulation and expression of aspirations within a setting of public discussion and awareness-raising activities, and that adaptation can be further countered by including a commitment to action. We then report on field research done in Khayelitsha, a township in Cape Town, South Africa, where a group of women went through a process of voicing, examining, and then realizing their aspirations. The action research confirms our theoretical hypotheses. We also do not find any evidence of adaptation of the women’s aspirations, and argue that the absence of such adaptation might be a result of active capability selection, reflection, deliberation, and the exercise of agency throughout the action research programme.
An assessment of the socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS on agricultural production in Ethiopia: The case of Ada’a district in Eastern Showa province in Ethiopia
(2008) Wondimagegnhu, Beneberu Assefa; Conradie, Ina
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) which is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is not only an epidemiological problem but also one of the developmental challenges in developing countries. The epidemic is severely affecting the productive part of the population (15 to 49 age range), that is believed to be ‘the motor of development’. Ethiopia is one of the Sub-Saharan African countries whose economy is affected by the epidemic. The country is assigned along with India, China, Nigeria and Russia as the ‘next wave of HIV/AIDS’ with large populations at risk from HIV infection, that will overtake the current epidemic prevalence rate in central and southern Africa (NIC, 2002). The epidemic is also among the challenges facing the agricultural sector of the country which provides half of the country’s GDP. Although agriculture is the backbone of the economy, little effort has been made to estimate the impact of the epidemic and many existing studies focus on urban areas instead of rural areas. Therefore, the research reported on in this thesis assesses the extent and channels of the impact of HIV/AIDS on agricultural production. The research measured the extent of the impact of the epidemic on factors of production such as labor, capital stock and land use, which are the determinants of agricultural production. The research was conducted in Ada’a district in Eastern Showa province, Ethiopia, which is one of the top agricultural production areas of the country and also one of the most vulnerable areas for HIV/AIDS. Stratified random sampling and judgmental sampling techniques were employed to identify sample cases. In addition, both primary and secondary data sources were used to gather the required data/information. The primary sources of data collection methods include PRA, individual interviews, focus groups, photographs and observations. Secondary sources include reports from governmental and nongovernmental organizations, health centers, agricultural bureaus, books, newspapers, the internet, etc. The collected data was analyzed by using spread sheets-2003. The interpretation of the results was supported by graphs, tables and photos. Two stages of ordinary least square (OLS) estimation were done. The first stage was to estimate the impact of HIV/AIDS on production factors whereas the second stage estimation was done to estimate the impact of HIV/AIDS on output (income) of farmers via the impacts on factors of production. The findings of the analysis indicated that HIV/AIDS has been affecting factors of production significantly, i.e. by reducing labor-hours, depleting the capital stock of farmers and by its impact on the use of land (reducing the amount of land cultivated). The findings also indicated that HIV/AIDS has been decreasing the agricultural income of farmers.
Can deliberate efforts to realise aspirations increase capabilities? A South African case study
(Taylor & Francis, 2013) Conradie, Ina
This paper takes up Appadurai's suggestion that aspirations could be used as a key to unlock development for people who are economically marginalised, and that their capabilities could be increased by this approach. The notion of “aspirations” is theoretically and conceptually framed, and then Amartya Sen's use of the term capabilities as the space within which development should be assessed is explored. I subsequently describe a five-year programme in which economically marginalised women in Khayelitsha near Cape Town were assisted in voicing and attempting to realise their aspirations, while being assisted with access to some resources. Capability outcomes and constraints are described and analysed, and the question of adaptive preferences is addressed. I conclude that deliberate efforts to realise aspirations, accompanied by some facilitation, can increase capabilities, but that there are also structural constraints to capability expansion for these women that frustrate their aspiration of class mobility.
Child Protection Responses and Transformative Social Protection in Kenya and South Africa: Can social grants improve the wellbeing of children affected by violence and neglect?
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Nyamu, Irene Katunge; Conradie, Ina
This research critically explores how children from low income neighbourhoods in Kenya and South Africa experience formal child protection interventions couched within a child rights framework in response to violence and neglect. The study also considered the role that social assistance grants play in mediating children’s wellbeing outcomes as a means for addressing child maltreatment and vulnerabilities. The main thesis of the research is that despite a close link having been established between violence against children and poverty in the causation of complex vulnerabilities and ill-being for children in Africa, solutions addressing the twin challenges appear to be mutually exclusive. While social assistance grants in the form of cash transfers remain a popular strategy for alleviating short to medium-term poverty, their potential for addressing neglect and violence against children which is linked to poverty has remained fairly unexplored. To examine this question critically, the Wellbeing in Development framework by Gough, McGregor and Camfield (2007) was used. The framework dynamically conceptualises poverty as multi-dimensional, and wellbeing as both a process and an outcome through which individuals can self-evaluate what constitutes happiness and a good life in a given social and cultural context.
Dance on the red-brown earth
(University of the Western Cape, 2020) Conradie, Ina; Vandermerwe, Meg
Nandi, Java and Uuka are students at a Cape Town university, where they are enrolled in a film making course. Adela, their lecturer, will supervise their screenplay and film on a story which depicts the experience of the loss of land in South Africa. They are however also deeply involved in student protests for free university education for all. When the #feesmustfall protests reach a deadlock at their university and the university is temporarily closed, they decide to leave for the Eastern Cape to look for a story. There they stay with Uuka’s grandparents and spend their time trying to understand the family history and the family’s ownership of land, as well as the broader history of land dispossession. They do not only discover more about Uuka’s ancestors and about distant history, but also about themselves. As the characters delve more deeply into the past in their search for a story for a screenplay, the margins between their own stories and the screenplay shift and merge, as do the forms of novel and screenplay
Expanding Entrepreneurial Capabilities Through Business Incubators: A Case Study Of The iDea Hub Nigeria
(University of the Western Cape) Ikebuaku, Kenechukwu Maduka; Dinbabo, Mulugeta F.; Conradie, Ina
Entrepreneurship has long been offered as the panacea for poor economic growth and high rate of unemployment. Business incubation is considered an effective means for enhancing entrepreneurial actitivities while engendering socio-economic development. Information Technology Developers Entrepreneurship Accelerator (iDEA), is a software business incubation programme established by the Nigerian government as a means of boosting digital entrepreneurship activities and reducing unemployment in the country. This study assessed the contribution of iDEA Nigeria's entrepreneurship programmes towards enhancing the capabilities of its tenants.
Exploring adaptation and agency of mothers caring for disabled children inan urban settlement in South Africa: A qualitative study
(Elsevier, 2019) van der Mark, Elise J; Conradie, Ina; Dedding, Christine W.M.
Mothers of disabled children who are living in poverty face multiple interlinked disadvantages in relation togender, care, disability, and poverty. Yet, their experiences have been largely neglected in academic literature.This study explores how mothers from a poor urban settlement in South Africa manoeuvre, adapt, act and reactin such a difficult context, and how they maintain or improve their own and their family's wellbeing. Ourqualitative research with 30 mothers shows women's adaptation and agency in the trade-offs they make. Fuelledby social discrimination and abuse, mothers prefer to focus solely on the child, its care and the household inorder to keep themselves and their child safe. Despite providing certain benefits that mothers value, thesepreferences perpetuate or indeed worsen their position in society, as they reinforce traditional gender structuresand render them invisible to policymakers. This poses serious challenges for women's empowerment and gender-sensitive poverty-reduction policies.
From poverty to power? Women’s participation in intermediary organisations in Site C, Khayelitsha
(Unisa Press, 2011) Thompson, Lisa; Conradie, Ina
This article examines how women organise themselves in community structures to claim socio-economic rights through participation. The discussion is based on case study research undertaken in Khayelitsha, Site C, where women involved in incomegenerating projects (IGPs) have also been involved in a dual strategy of trying to improve their living conditions through active engagement. The article looks at the intermediary institutions, the South African national Civics Association (SANCO) and the Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) which mediate the participatory spaces for engagement created by local government, and how these organisations serve ordinary men and women from the townships in terms of helping them to attain a better quality of life.
Political affiliation, collective agency and structural opportunities for lumley market women in Sierra Leone
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Bockarie, Abioseh Maddie; Conradie, Ina
This thesis examines the interaction between the political affiliations, collective agency and structural opportunities of market women in the Lumley Market, which is in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown (2019). Informal marketplaces in Sub - Saharan Africa are spaces of opportunities for market women. However, it is difficult for one trader to use her personal agency to translate the opportunities in the marketplace into achievements. There are numerous structural challenges, like poor market infrastructure, norms and traditional practices that make it difficult for her to reach out for these opportunities. So this study refers to the collective opportunities that are available to market women as “structural opportunities” (Conradie, 2013, p.29), because they are embedded in the structures of the marketplace. It is difficult to identify the opportunities that are available to the Lumley market women because opportunities are just potentials (Des Gasper, 2002). Therefore, the study examines the five achievements commonly identified by the Lumley Market Women Association (LMWA) in 2019 to indicate their opportunities. The first objective of this study is to describe these five achievements.
Social Policy in South Africa: The challenges of poverty, inequality and exclusion
(2018) Conradie, Ina
South Africa is currently emerging from a political and socio-economic crisis. A political faction largely based on patrimonialism threatened to destroy the economy and thus social service delivery. With the recent election of Cyril Ramaphosa as State President a new start has been made to build a successful economy which can act as a base for pro-poor policies. This process will however not be easy. Although South Africa is known as the welfare leader in Africa, with 45.5% of its population receiving welfare grants, these social grants are not large enough to alleviate poverty, and almost 54% of the population remains under the poverty line. The National Planning Commission of South Africa is attempting to institute a comprehensive social security floor to cover all possible needs of the poor and excluded, but with the numbers cited above this remains a difficult undertaking.
Social protection policy in promoting human development outcomes: the cash transfer programme for orphans and vulnerable children in Kiambu, Kenya
(University of the Western Cape, 2014) Marangu, Joyce Njeri; Conradie, Ina
Cash transfers, integral in social protection, have increasingly been viewed as a viable measure of promoting human development outcomes in low and middle income countries in the face of persistent poverty exacerbated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Sub-Saharan Africa has been the worst hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic with almost two thirds of the world’s HIV/AIDS patients living in the region. By 2005, 12 million children were orphaned by the disease while 2 million more below 15 years of age were estimated to be infected (UNICEF, 2005:2). To address the plight of orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya the government together with various international development agencies launched the Cash Transfer Programme for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CT-OVC) in 2004 to provide for the basic needs of OVC and promote their human development. With the capability approach as its theoretical framework, this research seeks to determine the value attached by recipients of the CT-OVC to capabilities in the four broad dimensions of social life, health, education and play. It also seeks to gauge the extent of attainment of functionings in the four dimensions, and the association between participation in the programme and one’s functionings in the key dimensions. The research is conducted through a quasi-experimental design which compares recipients of the cash transfer to non-recipients and mixed methods are used to collect and analyse data. Results show that OVC consider capabilities in the dimensions of social life, education, health and play to be of high value in their lives. Children in the recipient group appear to have attained functionings in the four dimensions to a higher degree than their counterparts in the comparison group. There is also an association between participation in the CT-OVC programme and attainment of functionings in all four dimensions. Perceptions from participants explore further opportunities created or expanded through the CT-OVC as well as participants’ suggestions on the programme
Social resilience, structural vulnerability and capabilities in Genadendal, South Africa
(South African Academy for Science and the Arts, 2021) Conradie, Ina; Human-Hendricks, Anja; Roman, Nicolette
The town Genadendal or Genaal as it is called by the residents, is situated in the Western Cape, and was founded by the Moravian Church in 1837. The Faculty of Community and Health Sciences at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) has had a longstanding relationship with the Genadendal community through UWC's community engagement activities. The elderly in Genadendal approached UWC to document some of their memories of the pre- and post 1994 periods, and one of the authors conducted a series of qualitative in-depth interviews with twelve purposively selected retired residents of Genadendal to document their experiences and memories of both these periods. In this paper we analysed the data through the lens of Amartya Sen's Capability Approach (CA), as well as Resilience Theory1 to evaluate the opportunities, resilience and vulnerabilities of the participants. We explain the core concepts of both these theoretical approaches, and the ways in which they can be used in a qualitative study of this nature. We conclude that the two approaches are complementary and that the combined theoretical framework could potentially be used in additional contexts of a similar nature. The results show that when the participants were growing up there were strong social support mechanisms and cohesive relationships in the closed community. These bonds and relationships protected them and provided them with resilience during the apartheid era. After democracy in 1994 their work opportunities improved and possibilities to be better integrated into the broader society opened up, but the protected life in Genadendal changed radically. Social housing was made available by the municipality to farm workers, and to people from Cape Town and the surrounding areas. Due to the influx of people and gangster elements from Cape Town, structural vulnerabilities increased for the residents of Genadendal. The analysis of opportunities, resilience and structural vulnerabilities in Genadendal during and after apartheid, illustrates the experiences of an a-typical, isolated rural community in the Western Cape during those two historical periods. The following themes emerged: Before and during the Apartheid era The first theme identified was the sense of security experienced by the participants provided by the strong relationships amongst the people and the value driven guidance and care from the Moravian church and the teachers in the schools. The second theme highlighted the benefit of landownership. Originally most of the families owned land on which they could grow their own vegetables and fruit and keep livestock, which protected them from poverty and hunger. The community shared their vegetables and meat to support each other and this provided protection and care which contributed to the well-being of everybody in the community. The third theme the participants identified was that despite apartheid, the good education provided by caring teachers equipped them for life outside Genadendal. Many became teachers themselves. The good values instilled by the church were furthermore identified as a factor that facilitated social integration in the community of Genadendal and which equipped them for life outside the village. The fourth theme dealt with the period after apartheid. The year 2000 was identified as the time when an influx of people from Cape Town in particular, who were accessing social housing provided by the municipality, brought about dramatic changes. With the influx came crime, drugs, gangsterism and the loss of the values and social cohesion which had been cherished by the community of Genadendal. The negative effects of apartheid and colonial policies now reached Genadendal, which had been reasonably protected until this time due to its special position as a Moravian Mission. They now entered a new era of establishing trauma rooms and support systems to deal with the social problems that entered the community. Despite new work opportunities created by the new democracy after 1994, the community felt they had lost their social cohesion and that the values they knew were no longer universally adhered to. Ironically, better political conditions had not necessarily brought about greater personal freedom and security. It was found that combining the Capability Approach and Resilience Theory provides a potential framework for identifying resilience, vulnerability and capabilities in communities, in particular within historically and politically complex contexts. © 2020 South African Academy for Science and the Arts. All rights reserved.
Sosiale weerbaarheid, strukturele kwesbaarheid en instaatstellende geleenthede in Genadendal, Suid-Afrika
(Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, 2020) Conradie, Ina; Hendricks, Anja Human; Roman, Nicolette
The town Genadendal or Genaal as it is called by the residents, is situated in the Western Cape, and was founded by the Moravian Church in 1837. The Faculty of Community and Health Sciences at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) has had a longstanding relationship with the Genadendal community through UWC’s community engagement activities.
The synergy between gender relations, child labour and disability in the post-war Acholi sub-region of Northern Uganda
(University of Western Cape, 2020) Nakijoba, Rosemary; Conradie, Ina
After a war of nearly two decades in the Acholi sub-region of northern Uganda many families and communities were physically, socially, economically and psychologically devastated. A myriad of other concomitant effects of the war such as distorted gender relations in households and undue exposure of vulnerable children to the menace of hazardous child labour manifest in the communities today. A plethora of non-government organisations has worked in the Acholi subregion trying to transform the communities after the war, but these challenges remain thus compromising social justice and the well-being of children.
The use of information and communication technology by emerging commercial farmers in their development in the Western Cape, South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2018) Smidt, Hermanus Jacobus; Conradie, Ina
Although many researchers have shown ICT can enable development it remains a great challenge to understand the link between JCT4D projects and the development of emerging commercial agriculture. There is a need to realise the potential of information and communication technologies (ICT) for emerging commercial farmer development in order to achieve agriculture expansion and transformation in South Africa. This is important in order for them to partake in the knowledge economy visualised in the 2030 National development plan of South Africa and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030. However in South Africa, it is not yel established which spec(flc ICT are used, how they are used and the extent of deployment ((used in the emerging commercial agricultural sector. Few studies have focused on the faclors that influence the use of !CT in South Ajhcan emerging agriculture. This study investigates and attempts to understand the usage of ICT by emerging commercial farmers and the issues 1hat influence ICT use on the West Coast of the Western Cape Province in South Africa. The study investigates 1he different forms of JCT used, how they are being used, what they are used for, how important these technologies are as enablers of production, and the factors that affect their use. The study involved a survey response of 42 emerging commercial farmers and 46 of their farm employees in the Matzikama and Cederberg municipalities. A literature review draws from studies globally, regionally and in South Africa on how !CTs have penetrated and contributed to delivering development in emerging commercial agriculture. Although most emerging commercial farmers cannot afford to adopt !CT tools that are essential in their farming activities almost all who were interviewed acknowledged the importance of ICT to their businesses. However, among other ICT, mobile phones and television were found to be primarily used for social and entertainment reasons rather than for agricultural pwposes. The general findings showed that occupation on farm and JCT literacy influence the use of ICT by farm employees. On the other hand the gender, capacity of the farmer, off farm income and farm size influences the use of ICT by emerging commercial farmers. Our literature review established some examples ji'om the studies of other researchers and the efforts of multi-lateral institutions such as the FA 0 and ITU to illustrate how we can improve policy. 1 recommend that the South African government develop an e-agriculture strategy to monitor development and validation of good practices on the use of ICTs in agriculture and rural development. This strategy will examine emerging trends on the role of JCTs and the challenges faced in reaching scaled, sustainable informCIIion service models. This can increase the sustainability of emerging commercial agriculture to contribute to the improvement of the lives of the poor in rural areas. Finally I present research questions for future research.
Understanding and investigating relationality in the capability approach
(Wiley, 2021) Owens, John; Entwistle, Vikki A.; Conradie, Ina
he capability approach (CA) is a framework for un-derstanding, assessing, and promoting the quality ofhuman lives and social justice. It focuses on capabil-ities – people's freedoms and opportunities to live invaluable ways. Although its proponents readilyacknowledge that capabilities can depend on personal,social and environmental factors, little attention hasbeen paid to the ontology of capabilities (what they areand how they are caused and constituted) and theinherent relationality of the approach is often not wellfollowed through in research and practice. This, wesuggest, leaves the CA vulnerable to misinterpretationand misappropriation.
Understanding white Privilege: Perspectives from South Africa’s Western Cape Province
(University of the Western Cape, 2019) Cleophas, Edwin; Conradie, Ina
It has been 25 years since the demise of apartheid and yet white dominance still persists. With many significant changes visible as a result of the fall of apartheid, the country sadly remains racially divided. The black majority still lives in poverty while the white minority continue to hold their position of privilege and power. And while black people are trying to change the status quo, most white people are ignoring their role in the past while continuing to perpetuate their White Privilege as the gap between black and white widens. Not addressing the issues of the past, maintains the unearned privileges white people have, while the black community grows even more frustrated as the year’s pass. With this in mind, this study explored a sample of “ordinary people” in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, and their experience and knowledge of the phenomenon known as “White Privilege”. The goal was to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the specifics on how White Privilege functions and operates within the Western Cape and its impact on those who are excluded from perks related to White Privilege. This study confirmed the existence of White Privilege in the Western Cape. The impact of White Privilege on people of colour, and society at large, is where a small group of the research participants had different views. Some linked White Privilege directly to the continued oppression of people of colour, and the unfair position of privilege that white people occupy in society. Others viewed this Privilege as an unintended occurrence, which they should not be held accountable for. The critical point that all participants agreed on was that White Privilege in the Western Cape is a problem, and something that needs attention A.S.A.P.

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