Dubai: If there’s one thing the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) has come to symbolise over the years, it’s making the impossible possible.
Ever since its launch in 1996, DSF has given away over Dh1.7 billion in prizes, including Dh80.5 million in cash, 734kg of gold and 33 Rolls-Royces in addition to hundreds of other cars from Nissan, Lexus and Infiniti.
While the records of one lucky shopper who took home 100kg of gold and another who won 10 Nissan cars in one edition is yet to be broken, DSF 2014 is achieving its own highs, with 177 raffle draws yieldingt over Dh100 million in prizes, including luxury cars such as a Lamborghini and Bentley. But the true story lies in the impact of daily draws – 64 Infiniti cars, 31 Nissan cars, 32kg of gold and millions of dirhams in cash – on the lives of winners for whom long-cherished dreams of building a home back home and better living materialise overnight. Some bought tickets for a lark, others did so with a deep-rooted longing. Strong faith in the DSF raffle had some visiting Dubai only to try their luck, others who pooled money to get tickets and yet others who didn’t give up after failed attempts every season. XPRESS features 10 extraordinary stories
TWICE LUCKY
Jehad Mohammad, 54, Jordanian Infiniti Mega Raffle
Here’s a man with a rare affinity for the Infiniti raffle – he’s actually won it twice. Encouraged by his first win in 2012, he bought four tickets this DSF and came out a winner. And no, he won’t be keeping the two cars as the money would come in more than handy for his children’s college tuition fees, and his other financial commitments. “I participate in DSF raffles every year. I am so happy to win the raffle twice … they change the lives of people forever,” he said.
GOLDEN GIRL
Sini Babu, 28, Indian
1 kg gold
Indian housewife Sini Babu never imagined that a visit to the jeweller with her brother at Al Ghusais on January 10 would change her fortunes. “My brother was buying a gold chain worth Dh5,000. When the payment was made, we got 10 DSF coupons. We filled them up and one of them which had my name on it was declared the lucky winner. I didn’t know I was so lucky,” she said.
Her family said they will encash the gold and use the Dh136,000 to build a home in Kerala.
POWER OF PRAYER
Fasaludheen Kuttipalakkal, 32, Indian
Infiniti Mega Raffle
Tailor Fasaludheen Kuttipalakkal, who lives in a shared accommodation in Naif with seven others, had retired to his bunk-bed like any other night on January 3 when he learnt of his life-changing win. Despite his modest earnings, he said the Dh200 raffle ticket was one indulgence he allowed himself every year without fail. But this year proved lucky. He attributed his new fortune to his newborn daughter, who arrived just three days earlier.
“I always take the name of a loved one and pray to the Almighty that I should win. It has worked for me this time,” he said.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
14 technicians, Mixed nationalities
Infiniti Mega Raffle
Fourteen employees of a government organisation in Sharjah have long been pooling their money to buy DSF raffle coupons with different names on them, but had never won. This year, they bought four tickets, one bearing Abdul Hafeez’s name and it did the trick.
The 14 friends who come from modest backgrounds in India, Pakistan, Palestine and other countries will divide the cash prize equally among them. “Even if we had won Dh1,000, it would have been useful to us as we’re all from ordinary backgrounds,” said Hafeez, adding that one of them urgently needed the money to pay the fees of his children as he was getting constant reminders from their school.
ANOTHER POOL IN
Naushad, Rajesh, 32, Indian
Infiniti Mega Raffle
Naushad and Rajesh are two friends who live and work together. Salesmen at a supermarket, they pooled their money to buy the Dh200 ticket for the Infiniti Mega Raffle. Naushad said he had tried in vain last year, but wanted to give it another shot this year with help from Rajesh. The combination worked and they won two Infiniti luxury cars QX60 and G25 and Dh100,000 in cash.
They are not sure who will keep which car or whether they will encash them. But one thing is certain: their families back home in Kerala are waiting for the windfall.
PERSISTANCE PAYS
Ahmad Kabir, 49, Indian
Infiniti Mega Raffle
Ahmad Kabir, a PRO in Ajman, has been buying DSF raffle coupons ever since its first edition in 1996. His conviction that his patience would pay off one day became a reality when he received a call from the Global Village this season, telling him what he wanted to hear for 18 years. “My wife thought I was joking at first,” he said.
Swapping the two cars for money to buy a motorbike for his 19-year-old son, Kabir said he would use the rest of the cash to pay off loans and credit card debts.
FRUITS OF PATIENCE
Khaled Mahmoud Ghadban, 58, Palestinian
Infiniti Mega Raffle
Khalid Mahmoud Ghadban, sales manager at a private firm, has also been unfailingly buying raffle tickets since 1996, first in the names of his children and then his grandchildren. Disheartened that his long wait for a win had not materialised, he had almost decided not to participate this year. But a petrol station staff took the decision out of his hands when he walked to his car and persuaded him to purchase a coupon. “I told him I am never lucky with these raffles – but he said this time would be different.”
With the Dh500,000 he has got from the raffle, he plans to buy a small flat for himself and his wife. A timely investment as he retires in two years.
MAGICAL WIN
Unmesh Kumar, 46, Indian
Infiniti Mega Raffle
Unmesh Kumar is a clerk in a furniture factory. He won the Infiniti Mega Raffle at a time when he needed it the most as he was burdened with financial problems. “This is possibly the best thing that could have happened to me. Now I can put my troubles behind me,” said Kumar who bought the ticket from a booth on Bank Street in Bur Dubai. Living in the country for 15 years, this was Kumar’s first win. “Everyone should buy the DSF raffle. You can actually win it.”
MORNING SURPRISE
Nizar Ahmed, Syrian
Nissan Grand Raffle
Seven missed calls and a text message – Nizar Ahmad learnt of the big news an entire night after he emerged the winner. He had bought the ticket only because a petrol station attendant insisted on it. He had gone to bed early on the night of the win and missed all the calls from the Global Village. But when he opened his message box early the next morning, it was not only the start of a new day, but a new phase in his life.
“I am not sure what I would like to do with the Nissan car. I may use it myself or give it to my wife as a present,” he said.
GAIN POST LOSS
Mohammed A. S. Al Noman, Omani
Infiniti Mega Raffle
An Omani grandfather of 11, Mohammad A.S. Al Noman had lost his ATM card while withdrawing cash at a gas station.
Exhausted after a thorough search, he left the station only to receive a call from his wife that a police officer had found his card. When he returned to the gas station to collect it, a customer service representative persuaded him to buy the Infiniti Mega Raffle ticket. Reluctant at first, he finally gave in.
“I bought the coupon and forgot about it,” he said. But the congratulatory call from the DSF authorities made for the best birthday present ever as he marked his big day on January 17.
