In an outstanding gesture of making dreams a feasible reality, we recently heard that the Al Jawhara account with the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) now offers a chance for all of its customers to enter weekly and monthly draws, and a quarterly grand draw of KD250,000. For those of you who didn’t know, NBK increased the prizes for Al Jawhara account-holders to KD250,000 in the quarterly draw, KD125,000 for its monthly draw and a weekly draw winner of KD5,000, offering customers more chances to win bigger prizes.

Taking place last March, NBK’s 18th Annual Walkathon also showcased the first highly-anticipated quarterly draw of the year for the whopping KD250,000. The first winner, 33-year-old Kazem Mohammed Soleimani, immediately rushed to the Green Island site upon learning of his good fortune, then took home with him the amazing grand prize of KD250,000.

Recently engaged, Soleimani shared his thoughts on winning the Al Jawhara KD250,000 grand prize.

The question that everyone wants to ask, how does it feel?

Ever since the announcement I have checked my account over a hundred times. I keep checking that the amount is actually there. I keep thinking it’s a dream and I will wake up. I cannot seem to comprehend that I have that amount in my account right now. I actually won! The feeling is priceless. Actually, the feeling is worth KD250,000.

Did you ever think you could win?

This is a question that everyone is asked, and typically the answer is, no. I never won anything (then again, everyone I have ever known never did either) but earlier that day I was talking to one of my dear friends regarding financial issues and Al Jawhara account came up; I told him that if I would win the grand prize it would eliminate a lot of my issues right now. A few hours later, an NBK representative called and told me that I had won, no joke, no strings attached. I won KD250,000.

You remind us of that famous Arabic saying, “if only you wished for…”

Yes, we usually say this if we wish for small stuff, buying a phone, or craving a sandwich at the restaurant that you love, and then suddenly you pass it by. But in this case I wished for it! I wished for the grand prize and I got it.

Many people would now assume that Kazem would definitely quit his job, is that part of your plan?

(Laughing) That idea did not cross my mind. In fact, I take this as motivation to work harder. Work is part of who I am, the money I was awarded is an incentive to show me that the more I work, the more determined I am, the more I will succeed. I do not recommend that anyone stop his or her life when given this opportunity; we should always keep going on.

The question that will cost you KD250,000, what will you do with the money?

I recently got engaged, and have been working really hard to save up to have a nice wedding. I believe that my soon-to-be wife is my lucky charm; her presence in my life has made everything so easy for me. Ever since I got engaged, my life has been amazing. I made sure that part of the money would go towards giving her the wedding of her dreams.

We are guessing she was the first person you called?

That is true, she is currently out of the country on vacation and I called her up to tell her that I won NBK’s Al Jawhara grand prize of KD250,000. She still doesn’t believe me. I cannot wait for her to come back and see the number in my bank account.

Any final thought you would like to share with everyone?

I want to thank NBK for giving everyone the chance and creating an account that turns dreams into reality. I want to say that my fiancée is the best thing that has happened to me and I now definitely believe that everything is possible.

The Al Jawhara account offers numerous benefits to NBK customers; not only is it an interest-free account with regular deposit and withdrawal privileges, but also entitles account-holders to enter the weekly, monthly and quarterly Al Jawhara draws. Each KD50 deposited in an Al Jawhara account entitles the customer to one chance in any of the draws. Al Jawhara accounts can be opened at any NBK branches in Kuwait. You never know, you can be the next Al Jawhara winner!

For all the latest updates, and an updated list of Al Jawhara winners please visit nbk.com. Follow them on Facebook: NBK.fans and Twitter @NBKPage and Instagram @nbkpage.