NAIROBI – Damaris Kariuki, a hairdresser who lives in the slum is the lucky winner of the Kshs.10 million “Tetemesha na Safaricom” jackpot. Damaris’ good fortune marked the culmination of the country’s largest ever consumer promotion which saw customers on the Safaricom network walk away with over Kshs.500 million in cash and airtime.
For Damaris and her husband George Kariuki who hawks in the city, life is about to make a dramatic turn given their huge windfall. The couple who have two children and three grandchildren, said they were overjoyed when they received the call announcing the good news last Friday. “When I was told that I had won couldn’t summon the strength to stand up or walk for a while, it was too much for me to take in at once.
To say that I was surprised by that phone call is the understatement of the year,” said Damaris. “I thank God for this good fortune and I pray that Safaricom will continue to impact the lives of other people as they have done mine.” Her husband, George, he says he has not been able to eat well since Friday.
They said their first priority will be to find a piece of land where they can build their own permanent house and others for rent. The couple currently lives in a mabati house in in the city which is not accessible by car and one has to walk on uneven terrain for more than 100 metres to get to the house.
“This promotion, like everything else we do at Safaricom, was designed to help transform the lives of our customers. We are therefore proud to be handing over the Grand Prize to Damaris and George, knowing that this marks a life changing moment for them and their families”, said Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer, Bob Collymore.
The 44-day promotion was a reward to the over 19 million loyal and supportive customers using both PrePay and PostPay services. Forty-four people won Kshs. 1 million each, while a similar number won Kshs100,000.
