I first heard this wonderful story of ‘neigbour to neighbor’ international development a decade ago. I wanted to retell it for several reasons – one, because it sums up for me some of the very best characteristics of North Americans; two, because as I get older, I am ever more inspired by Jeff Lohr, who was facing health challenges when this story began; and three, because it shows that development is a shared challenge born out of trust and respect. Or as Jeff once put it, “we’re just regular Joes trying to help other regular Joes in another country.”

In 2007, when a young Ghanaian carpenter named Abubakar Abdulai went into an internet cafe in West Africa and sent an email to Jeffry Lohr’s woodworking school in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, it was the start of a friendship that has brought immense opportunity for a better life for rural West Africans. Jeff ran a woodworking school that accepted 10 students eight times a year into his competitive six-day master class, attracting beginners and professionals from all over North America and as far away as India and Sweden, as well as many inquiries from the developing world.