6 OFWs win big in latest UAE raffle draw

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Six overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), including an accountant, who took home AED 100,000 — the equivalent of P1.44 million — were the latest big winners at the recent Mahzooz grand draw, where participants only need to buy a AED35 bottled water to try their luck.

Mark Anthony, the accountant who works at an oil and gas company, said he is overjoyed, describing his win as “God’s perfect timing.”

“May mga pinaglalaanan kami gaya ng edukasyon ng mga bata. May plano ding ipaaayos ang bahay sa Pilipinas,” said Mark Anthony, whose homemaker wife and three kids — one in high school and two in grade school — are  staying with him in Abu Dhabi.

(We are saving up for some things such as the children's education. We also have a plan to fix our house in the Philippines.)

“When a former colleague called me on the night of the draw, I was not able to pick up his call. I then received a message from him conveying the happy news about the win. I immediately opened the Mahzooz app on my phone to verify the results and I was so surprised to find my name among the winners. It was an indescribable moment,” he added.

The other five OFWs won AED55,555 each or the equivalent of P800,000.

“Masayang masaya ako. Birthday ko nu'ng araw na iyon,” said Honey, one of the winners. “Nanghingi ako ng number sa father ko.”

(I am very happy. That was my birthday. I asked my father for a number combination.)

Honey, an admin staff member at a hospital in Abu Dhabi, said she will invest the money in her parents’ restaurant business in the Philippines. “Ipapadala ko sa Pilipinas 'yung pera para support sa restaurant business,” she said.

(I will send the money to the Philippines so it can be used to support the restaurant business.)

Honey also has her family with her — two children and a husband, who works at an insurance company.

Jemar, another winner who works as a mall staff in Abu Dhabi, was likewise overjoyed, saying:  “Gagamitin ko 'yung pera sa pagpapagamot sa father ko. Meron kasi siyang medical condition.”

(I will use the money for my father's treatment. He has a medical condition.)

Still another winner, Dondi, said the amount he won was a boost to their financial situation. “Masaya ako lalo na may financial problem kami. Malaking tulong ito,” said Dondi, a service technician who lives in Dubai with his wife, a homemaker, and two children – a three-year-old and a one-year-old.

(I am happy [to have won] because we have a financial problem. This would be a big help.)

The two other winners were Susie, a nurse who works at a medical facility in Abu Dhabi who has decided to save the prize money, and Esper, also an accountant, who said she will use the AED 55,555 to rebuild her parents’ house back home.

Mahzooz, which means "lucky" in Arabic, does not disclose the winners’ real names for security reason, unless they give their consent.

The company donates the sales from the bottled water to hydrate those in need. —KG, GMA News