He is one of two LOTTO PLUS 1 winners who each won R29 million from the 24 November LOTTO draw.

The winner says that he is a regular LOTTO and PowerBall player and has been playing for many years. However, he says that when he played his LOTTTO numbers last week for R50, using a QuickPick selection method, he did not imagine that he was just days away from being R29 million richer.

The elderly winner visited the National Lottery offices in the company of his son on Thursday, to finally claim his prize. He expressed both disbelief and gratitude for his new fortune that he refers to as a “blessing in his golden years”.

It seems that this jackpot could not have gone to a more deserving person. This winner is a community leader and has been a pillar of his community for decades. He has been running an old age home in his community since 1980, committed to taking care of the elderly.  He later started another Centre, taking care of children living with disabilities. He has sustained both organisations with the help of funding from different donors, and some of his own money. The winner says that money will go a long way in helping him expand the impact of his organisations. “There’s a lot children living with disabilities that are on the waiting list, waiting to receive help from our centre. We have not had enough money to accommodate them and this has been breaking my heart and giving me sleepless nights. I will use some of my winnings to improve this situation”, said the teary winner.

The winner has been running the NPOs with the help of his children who are fully hands-on in the organisations. His son says that from when he and his siblings where young, both his parents have always taught them the importance of helping others and sharing even the little that you have with them.

The winner received psychological counselling and extensive financial advice organised by ITHUBA, which he attended with his son.