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| Life-changing: Joel (pictured) used a portion of the proceeds to buy backpacks for 150 children in Liberia |
A man who replied to an African internet scammer for a joke ended up helping the needy dad earn $25,000 and turn his life around in Liberia.YouTuber Ben Taylor, 33, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was contacted by a stranger on Facebook who wrote: '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. 'Instead of deleting the message, Ben replied, 'How can I help?' - triggering an unlikely chain of events which he documented on his YouTube channel, Pleasant
Amazing: Ben Taylor (pictured), 33, of Salt Lake City, Utah, helped an African internet scammer named Joel create a photography book that earned him $25,000 and changed his life around
Ben, who previously went viral after mailing 'horse poop' to a different scammer in Nigeria, said that at first his aim was to waste as much of Joel's time as possible. But when he asked the man if he wanted to collaborate on a photojournalism project, he discovered he was actually a dad in genuine need of a helping hand. Ben asked Joel - who claimed he wanted to be a journalist - to send him some photos of the sunset in Liberia using his phone and promised to pay him for the images if he did so.
Ben eventually asked Joel to take some photos of the sunset in Liberia for him. Ben was willing to pay him for the pictures, but the ones Joel sent were too blurry so Ben saw potential in the pictures and sent Joel a $30 camera
Ben was stunned when Joel sent him 20 eye-opening images of his impoverished Liberian village. Ben went on to create a book showcasing Joel's work, entitled By D Grace of God.
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Heartwarming story: The book sold around 2,500 copies at $10 each - raising a staggering $25,000
Gift: In addition to providing money for Joel and his family, the budding photographer also gave back to his community by providing children in need with backpacks (pictured)
'It was really special and moving to see how much good one guy could do. Joel was able to buy backpacks for over 150 kids. 'He is now in the process of building up a business for himself and getting back up on his feet. 'The thing to take away from this story is that you can't judge people too quickly. 'If you see people come to you and ask for help it's easy to write them off - a scammer or beggar who has brought this situation upon themselves.'Taking the time to get to know people can help things to turn out completely differently.'
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