IT IS ESTIMATED that 1 billion of our global population survive on one US dollar or less a day. Although the road to extreme poverty is hugely varied and intricate, the everyday struggles faced by the planet’s poorest are sadly all too common.

A new book produced by Thomas A. Nazario (creator of the nonprofit The Forgotten International) and photographer and Pulitzer Prize winner Renée C. Byer offers us a glimpse into the lives of these people.

A direct call for action, Living on a Dollar a Day: The Lives and Faces of the World’s Poor is a welcome reminder that collaborative change must be driven forward on a global scale.

All photos courtesy of Renée C. Byer

1

Romania

4-year-old Ana-Marie Tudor's family face eviction from their home in Bucharest, Romania.

2

Ghana

6-year-old Ninankor Gmafu, from the Volta region of Ghana, herds cattle. He does not attend school and it's unlikely that he ever will.

3

Bangladesh

27-year-old Labone works at a brothel in Jessore, Bangladesh. Her daughter was fathered by a client.

4

Bolivia

9-year-old Alvaro Kalancha Quispe works with his family's alpaca and llama herd before school, and returns to do the same in the evening. Alvaro and his family live in the Akamani mountain range of Bolivia, where they face harsh weather and tough conditions, with little or no comfort.

5

India

Subadra Devi, aged 40, works on a construction site as a laborer in the Himalayan foothills of Dharamsala, India.

6

India

These two children, Hunupa Begum, 13, and Hajimudin Sheikh, six, beg for food and money in New Delhi.

7

Ghana

Fati, aged 8, suffers from Malaria. She joins many of the children searching for metal scraps in Accra, Ghana.

8

Romania

Hora Florin, aged 28, grew up in Romanian orphanages. He now spends the night underground the heating vents to keep warm.

9

India

6-year-old Vishal Singh takes care of a baby while her mother is away in a New Delhi slum.

10

Ghana

The Kayayo Girls of Accra, Ghana, travel to cities to collect waste or serve as porters. They often live as a community near or on top the city dump.