If you have ever dreamed about winning the lottery, you probably already have a long list of things that you would do with the money. The highest priority on that list would probably be to secure a better future for you and your family. This is the exact case for lucky Indian lottery winner Mofijul Rahima Sheikh. In this article, we will look at his incredible story and see how his simple dream was realised more than he could ever have imagined.
WHO IS MOFIJUL RAHIMA SHEIKH?
Mofijul Rahima Sheikh was a 22-year old construction worker from Bardham, located in West Bengal, India. Sheikh is married and, at the time of his win, had a daughter who was not even a year old. Unfortunately, in Bardham, work was scarce, and Sheikh was battling to make enough money to keep him and his small family afloat. For this reason, he decided—like so many others from around the area—to travel to Kerala, where there were many more job opportunities.
SHEIKH'S DREAM
Sheikh went to look for work in Kerala for two simple reasons. The first was so that he could support his family and buy them everything they needed to live day-to-day. However, the second reason was even more important to Sheikh: he dreamt of building a house for his small family so that his daughter would have a safe place in which to grow up. He wanted to work in Kerala and save up money before moving back home to fulfil this dream.
RAHIMA IN KERALA
Shortly after arriving in Kozhikode city, located in Kerala state, Sheikh found a job at a local construction site and started working immediately. Unfortunately, the pay was not great. In fact, earning just INR 50 (the equivalent of $0.75) per day is downright awful. However, Sheikh was happy for the opportunity and worked hard on his first day to receive his paycheque.
THE PITY TICKET
After working his first day, while on the way to the place where he had found some accommodation, Sheikh passed a disabled street vendor that was selling lottery tickets to be able to survive. Being a kind person with a big heart, Sheikh took pity on the man and spent his entire days’ pay on buying a ticket for the Kerala State Karunya Lottery—which coincidently translates to the compassion lottery.
SHEIKH'S BIG WIN
A full three days later, Sheikh heard the news that somebody had won the jackpot amount of INR 10 million (around $150,000)—the equivalent of about 625 years’ wages! He quickly sought out a newspaper with the results and checked them against his ticket. Unbelievably, he was the jackpot winner that everybody was talking about! Refusing to believe it, he checked additional newspapers to make sure that he was not mistaken—he was not—and realized he had just become one of the youngest lottery winners in India.
LOOKING FOR SAFETY
Worried that somebody would find out that he was the winner and steal his ticket, Sheikh sought refuge at a local police station. After arriving and explaining his situation, the station’s police took him in and allowed him to safely stay there for two days. These two days were necessary due to all the banks being closed for the Hindu holiday, Shivaratri.
CLAIMING HIS BIG WIN
After two days at the police station, the banks re-opened, and Sheikh was finally ready to claim his jackpot prize. The police who had been protecting him this whole time escorted him to the nearest bank where he opened a bank account and claimed his life-changing prize.
LIFE AFTER THE WIN
Sheikh’s family were overjoyed with the news of his win and organised a celebration for him upon his return home. In fact, his family was so happy that his father travelled to Kerala before Sheikh left just so that they could travel back together.
Sheikh travelled back home with plans already in mind of purchasing a farm for him and his family to work on and to build a house for his wife and eight-month-old daughter. He also spoke of how he wanted to open his own business—ensuring, unlike so many other lottery jackpot winners, that his win would last him a long time and truly change his life.
THE LAST SAY
The story of Sheikh just goes to show that hard work and trying to provide for your family are noble things and could result in you being rewarded more than you could ever imagine. It does also, however, show the importance of showing kindness to those less fortunate than us. Had Sheikh not shown kindness to a disabled lottery vendor who was simply trying to make a living, he would not have returned home with the capital to ensure that all his (and his family’s) dreams come true.
THE PITY TICKET
