That’s exactly what happened to four Vodacom customers – Thabo*, Samantha*, Themba* and Katlego* – over the first quarter of this year, when their nine lucky letters exactly matched the draw on the weekly game show and they each won R1 million!

None of the four could believe their luck when contacted by Vodacom’s representatives to be told of their windfall. But as the wonderful news sank in, they all began to realise what a difference the win will make to their lives, as all four winners come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

2009 started with a real bang for Thabo from the Northern Cape, when his Yebo Millionaires entry won him R1 million on Tuesday 30 December.

As a regular Yebo Millionaires entrant, the 22 year-old farm worker sends between five and seven entries every week, including the two free SMSs available each week to every Vodacom customer to enter the draw.

When asked recently what he has done so far with his windfall, Thabo said that he had enrolled at a college, where he is studying for a diploma in business administration. Thabo has nearly completed building a six-roomed house for his family and he also purchased a car for himself, but he is still learning how to drive. “I’m very grateful to Vodacom for all of this; my life has never been better,” he says. The youngest winner, Katlego, is just 20 years old, and is in his first year of studying human resources.

“I have somehow always believed that I would win it one day. I have been playing Yebo Millionaires for about two years and have remained positive all along. I believe my win was meant to be,” he said confidently.

Katlego, who lives with his pensioner grandparents, plans to use his money for his studies until he completes his masters’ degree. He also wants to repair his grandparents’ house and will invest the rest of the money. His parents and three siblings live in Pretoria.

“A lot of things have happened to me and my family. At one point I thought the world had forgotten about us and I was almost despairing. I think it’s the ancestors who have found a way to fix my family’s financial problems through me,” Katlego explained.

Samantha, a 31-year-old fruit-picker from the Western Cape, gathered far more than the fruit of her day’s labour on Tuesday 31 March 2009, when she won R1 million on Yebo Millionaires.

A mother of three, Samantha didn’t expect to win anything, but still kept sending SMS entries to 32082. Following her good luck, she got married in May, but other than that, she says her life has not changed a great deal, as she decided to take a while to decide what to do with her money. Samantha has also continued to pick and count fruit on the farm, even though she is now an instant millionaire.

“I want to buy a house for my family and save money for my children to study further after school so they can become successful one day,” she said.

Samantha wants to motivate Vodacom customers to enter the game show: “Just enter, take a chance and don’t play to win, play for fun!” she urged them.

She adds, “I want to thank Vodacom’s Yebo Millionaires for having this show, because it has changed my life and I pray that God blesses the show so that others can have a chance to experience what I have.”

The fourth winner, Themba, is a 34-year-old miner from Mpumalanga.All Yebo Millionaires’ million-rand winners receive expert investment advice to help them make the best possible use of their wins.

Nearly 1.8 million Vodacom customers have won prizes in the weekly Yebo Millionaires game show, screened every Tuesday on SABC1 (just after The Bold and the Beautiful) at 18:30.

Prizes include cash, cellphones and recharge vouchers. If a customer’s nine letters exactly match those on the game show draw, then he or she will be the winner of R1 million! An eight-letter match is worth R200 000. If more than one customer’s letters match those on the draw, the prize is shared.

A seven-letter match will get you airtime worth R29.00, while a six-letter match will see R12.00 airtime loaded onto the customer’s cellphone. In addition, the show gives away a brand- new car on the last Tuesday of the month.

Vodacom Yebo Millionaires is also committed to investing in communities and therefore donates computer centers to four public schools every month, helping to uplift education for the school and its community.

*These are not the winners’real names

Every week, Vodacom customers get two free SMSs to enter the Yebo Millionaires game show. If you want to play Yebo Millionaires and stand a chance of winning fantastic prizes, SMS your nine lucky letters to 32082 and you could be the next millionaire.