Dubai teen to put Dh1 million prize to good use

A 15-year-old Indian girl in Dubai has won Dh1 million through a raffle and plans to donate part of it to charity.

DUBAI // A teenager in Dubai, who won Dh1 million in a raffle, says she plans to donate part of the money to charity.

Aishwarya Sudhakar Rao, 15, won the prize in a draw on Monday, according to Kalyan Jewellers, the Indian company that held the raffle.

Aishwarya, whose family is from India, said it was “amazing” that she won.

“To be honest, I don’t think I did anything to deserve this prize. My parents put my name in the draw,” she said. “It would have been nice if someone needy had won it. I will use a part of the prize money for charity and save the rest for my education.”

Aishwarya received a cheque at the jeweller’s showroom in the Karama Centre.

Her father, Sudhakar Rao, said his daughter plans to start a charitable initiative at school.

“Aishwarya has always been lucky for us and now she is lucky for herself,” he said. “She plans to start a fund-raising project in her school.”

The draw was open to customers who spent more than Dh2,000 on jewellery at the company’s stores.

The company’s chairman, T S Kalyanaraman, said the jeweller is “delighted” that its winner was a young girl.

“I hope that Aishwarya, under the guidance of her parents, can realise some of her goals,” he said.