There was excitement on VOC on Friday as Al Baraka bank announced the winner of its annual Hajj Investment Competition on Friday. Walied Sydow from Lentegeur in Mitchell’s Plain was revealed as the lucky individual, who will embark on the journey of a lifetime, to fulfill the final pillar of Islam. For an overwhelmed Sydow (40), the competition has been a spark of hope in his dreary journey of financial struggle since his retrenchment in 2007.

“I can barely speak. I can’t hold back the tears,” said an emotional Sydow.

“I can just say alhamdulillah. In 2007 when I was retrenched I felt that I lost everything. I felt hopeless that I would never generate any income again.”

When Sydow entered the competition, he had the intention to save money for himself, his wife and his siblings.

“His niyah was that he wanted to save some money for the two of us, his brother and sister. They then advised us to open an Al Baraka account because the money you can use for more than one person,” says his wife Sumaya.

The prize has motivated the couple to make a fixed deposit every month into their haj account until they have enough for both of them to embark on a holy pilgrimage.

“This really gives us a boost as we were not able to put any money in the account. There is a lot of barakah in Ramadan,” says Sydow.

Sydow will receive R10 000 credited to his account. The competition was open to anyone with a minimal balance of R2500.

“We want to make a profound difference in someone’s life,” says branch manager Adeeb Abrahams.

Staff and family were excluded from entering the draw.

It is one of the first accounts created by Al Baraka. Any Muslim who wants to go on haj or umrah can open the account.

“All it takes is a minimal deposit of R100. The account is there to make it easier for hajjis and to motivate people to save,” says Abrahams. VOC