Dubai: A Lebanese expat in the UAE who is one of the first winners this year from Emirates Draw has committed to share “a generous amount” from her winnings to Children’s Cancer Centre of Lebanon (CCCL), organisers said on Wednesday.
May Habib, a UAE resident for the past 30 years, who is an interior designer by trade and managing partner of a building materials company, said she only took part infrequently in raffle draws over the years and upon her son’s urging, purchased an entry in last weekend’s draw for Dh100 million. The 62-year-old did not win the grand prize but she brought home Dh77,777.
Habib said: “My son had been messaging me repeatedly saying I should enter [the draw] and that he had a very strong feeling I would win that day. So we went to the Emirates Draw website and chose our numbers. I haven’t won anything significant like this [Dh77,777] before. It just feels so surreal. We had to watch the show again just to make sure I’d actually won with the numbers we had chosen. Truly it was such an amazing feeling.”
A generous amount from her win will go to CCCL, Habib said, adding: “I am so appreciative to Emirates Draw for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this wonderful cause. The situation in my home country is heart-breaking, as we are all aware, and my choice of charity organisation is because the mission of CCCL is close to my heart. The charity tirelessly provides access to treatment to children suffering from cancer at no cost and our support is vital right now. I want to thank Emirates Draw for providing me with the means to help.”
More sharing
Meanwhile, Slovenian expat Uros Milovanovic, was in disbelief when he received the Emirates Draw email informing he had won Dh77,777. A resident of Dubai for the past 13 years, Milovanovic and his wife and three children were ecstatic about his win. He said: “I really couldn’t believe it at first. I kept checking to make sure it was real. I’m so grateful that I was one of the winners. I’m going to share this with my family and I hope to donate some of my winnings to charities in Serbia, with which we have long standing relationships. If anything remains I might treat myself, but my priority is my family and to help where I can.”
Twice a winner
For 46-year old Indian expat and Dubai resident Shreeram Shanta Naik, winning with Emirates Draw once was a dream, but winning twice in 30 days seemed impossible. This became a reality when his intuitive number selection made him win Dh77,777.
“I can’t believe that the numbers I chose matched the draw twice in less than a month! Winning is exciting and I plan on investing this money in a variety of different stocks,” he said.
How to participate
The record-setting Dh100 million grand prize from Emirates Draw is still up for grabs and participants hoping to win the enormous amount will have the opportunity to do so on Sunday, January 9, by matching all seven numbers.
Entrants can choose to participate in the weekly draw by purchasing a Dh50 pencil that will support in planting a coral polyp. After registering on Emirates Draw website, participants can select their seven-digit number or have the system choose their number randomly.
