MUSCAT : A hearing impaired man from the south Indian state of Kerala who contemplated many a times before buying O! Millionaire’s green certificate couldn’t believe his luck when he received a message saying he was the raffle draw O! Millionaire winner of OMR 10,000.

Nisar Kuniyil, who has been working as a supervisor in a private company in Qatar for the last 15 years, was hesitant to buy the certificate because of his poor financial condition.

“Somehow I convinced myself and thank god for my decision,” Nisar explains.

He was introduced to the concept of O! Millionaire by a friend in Oman who sent him a link through WhatsApp.

“It is an impressive initiative because it encourages us to embrace sustainable and green principles which are important for the world we live in,” says Nisar who has a son.

An overwhelmed Nisar who got “goose flesh” on hearing that he had won the draw called his wife to say he has won who thought he was joking.

“It took me a while to convince her, but now the whole family is overjoyed. I thank God for choosing me to give this gift. I was thrilled I was the chosen one out of all the people,” he says.

He plans to use the money for his son’s education, home, family expenses, perhaps reinvest the money and buy more green certificates.

He encourages hearing impaired and low-income group to participate in the draw.

“The process of registering for the draw is easy and they will be contributing to a great cause. I will spread the message and encourage everyone to buy a green certificate,” he says.

A green certificate, which participants purchase to support O! Millionaire’s tree-planting programme that forms the basis of Oasis Park, entitles them to an entry for a draw valued at over OMR 6,200,000. The certificate provides participants two chances to win – one through a raffle that pays out one winner OMR 10,000 every week and another through a draw that can bring them prizes valued at more than OMR 6,200,000. The draw is held every Thursday at 8 pm and should no grand prize winner be selected in a draw; a sum of OMR 50,000 will be added to the prize sum every week.

O! Millionaire environmental initiative intends to create Middle East’s largest green park – the Oasis Park in the Ash-Sharqiyah region of Oman, the first man-made, artificial oasis on a planned total area of 1,200 square kilometers that will be created as a sustainable, self-contained ecosystem. The planned area will provide space for up to 60 million different trees, which will be planted over the next years and decades and thus contribute significantly to the goal of reducing global CO2 emissions.