Gapminder's 'Dollar Street' Project
The Dollar Street project documents families around the world living on vastly different incomes. Our involvement with this project started from its beginning; we have had the opportunity to document many homes in different countries all over the world (Latvia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Liberia, Burundi, Somaliland, Lebanon, and Papua New Guinea).
The ultimate message we hope to portray by working on with the Dollar Street project is to help break down barriers of culture and stereotypes. Regardless of how much income we have, we are all human beings at the end of the day; we all have dreams, hopes, and needs.
Dollar Street was invented by Anna Rosling Rönnlund at Gapminder. For 15 years she spent her workdays making global public data easier to understand and use. Over time her frustration grew: carefully selecting data to present it in colourful and moving charts made overall global trends and patterns easier to understand. But it did not make everyday life on different income levels understandable. Especially not in places far from home. “People in other cultures are often portrayed as scary or exotic.” Anna explains: “This has to change. We want to show how people really live. It seemed natural to use photos as data so people can see for themselves what life looks like on different income levels. Dollar Street lets you visit many, many homes all over the world. Without travelling.”
Check out Gapminder’s Dollar Street project here.
The Idle family lives in Hargeisa, Somaliland, on $35/month. Amina is a street beggar. She lives with her two young children in a 1-room house which is made of poor quality materials. She moved here when she escaped as a war refugee from Mogadishu, Somalia. Her favourite item is her bracelet. She dreams of one day being able to buy a house.
The Kenzkai Baykai family lives in Gundai, Papua New Guinea, on $50/month. Martin is 32 years old and is a subsistence farmer. His wife Betty, 29 years old, is also a subsistence farmer and they live with their 4 children in a 2-bedroom house. Their favourite item in the house is the bush knife. The next thing they plan on buying is a generator. Their dream is to buy cooking utensils, clothes, and oil.
The Lokometi family lives in Riga, Latvia, on $3,379/month. Renāts Lokomets is 37 years old and is an economist. His wife Anna Lokometa is 34 years old and she works in marketing. They live in a 4-bedroom apartment. They own the apartment and like living here because it’s close to most places. Their dream is to buy an apartment in an older house.
The Niyonsaba family lives in the Rubengera region, Rwanda, on $460/month. Ndabyemgye is 47 years old and is a banker. His wife Florance is 26 years old and she is a farmer/food seller. They live with their 2 children and a niece in a 4-room house. The have owned their house for 7 years. Their next big plan is to buy a new house. Their dream is to be able to afford the university fees for their children.