This guy answered an apparent internet scam from Liberia - and was surprised

We've all gotten them, emails from strangers in foreign lands asking for money. Ben Taylor from Ogden, Utah received this message on Facebook “Helo Sir, wel my name is Joel from Liberia, West Africa. Pls I beg u in name of GOD, I need some assistance from u, business or financial assistance dat will help empower me pls.” Ben assumed, as most of us would, that 'Joel' was scamming him. A photographer by trade, Ben has a YouTube channel in which he sometimes documents his efforts to string scammers along and expose their shenanigans. He decided to do the same with Joel and responded, "How can I help?"

Joel told him he was a journalist in need of financial help, so Ben asked him to take on an assignment in photojournalism work - use his phone to photograph his local sunset. If Joel would send the pictures, Ben would wire him some money. 

Ben was surprised to receive pictures, badly focused and blurry, but pictures all the same. Impressed that Joel was making an effort, Ben bought a $30 camera and sent it to Joel with instructions on some photography basics of focus and lighting. The images Joel sent back improved with practice. Some were exceptional. Ben concluded that Joel was not trying to scam him, but was indeed just trying to figure out a way to get ahead. 

Ben got an idea.

He collected some of Joel's best shots an created a photo book called "By D Grace of God," one of Joel's commonly used phrases. He launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds through sale of the book with an understanding that he and Joel would split profits 50/50. In the end, about 1000 copies of the book were sold in 40 countries, raising about $13,000. 

Ben wanted to help Joel and his community even more.  
He asked Joel what his community's needs were, and Joel had an idea - school supplies. So Ben wired his half of the proceeds to Joel, who took the funds to a local market. He literally cleared out their stock of backpacks, pencils, notebooks, etc. and had to hire a taxi to take it all back to his village.

Ben is amazed and delighted by the outcome of his interaction with Joel. "I thought I would waste his time by giving him these menial tasks of taking pictures around his village, but it turns out that he was willing to put in the work. … He was really just a guy that was down on his luck and looking for work. When you give someone a chance, sometimes they’re not who you thought they were. Sometimes they surprise you, and sometimes you end up being the answer to their prayers.”