Iranian, Nepalese and Maldivian women all winners in Emirates Draw

Organisers say it was unusual to have so many female winners

Rina Lama from Nepal won Dh77,777 in the draw. Photo: Emirates Draw

Three women are among the lucky winners in this week's Emirates Draw, each taking home Dh77,777.

Iranian Faegheh Nasrollahi, Rina Rai Lama from Nepal and Haulath Abdul Raheem from the Maldives all had their raffle tickets picked on Sunday. Organisers said it was unusual to have so many female winners, and from such varied backgrounds, win at the same time.

Ms Nasrollahi, 39, works in a hotel and takes part in the raffle every weekend. After the initial shock of seeing the confirmation email in her inbox, she soon turned her thoughts to who she could help with the money.

“I’m so happy!" she exclaimed.

"I play every week. Its my little ritual. I of course want to help my family and my parents are my world.

"Winning this money changes lots of things for me but most importantly I am grateful to Emirates Draw for helping me make some changes I have been wanting to do for some time.”

Ms Lama, 24, dreams of starting her own business with the winnings. She has been an archive clerk in Dubai for four years and had not entered the draw in more than five months.

“I could not sleep all night," Ms Lama explained after hearing the news.

"I was floating on a cloud and I am so excited. I am buzzing!

"I am going to use this money to start my own business. I don’t know what kind of business yet... This money gives me the opportunity to change my life.”

The final female winner had only arrived in Dubai a year ago and this was her first time buying a ticket.

Ms Raheem, 32, bought the ticket on a whim.

“I don’t play at all," said said.

"I’ve been in Dubai with my husband and two children for only a year and I thought to myself this weekend why not? Let me give it a try.

"So when I won it was a feeling of happiness. We come here to work to save for our future and our children’s future and this will help as we are planning on saving this money for a rainy day."

The UAE-based Emirates Draw recently broke records by announcing a Dh100 million grand prize. The lucky winner will have to match all seven numbers in the draw on January 30 at 9pm.

People can take part by purchasing a Dh50 pencil, that contributes towards planting a coral polyp, by visiting www.emiratesdraw.com.

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