The Retiree who Broke the Lottery

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When Jerry Selbee from the United States, found a way to crack the lottery, he set his mind to making as much money as possible. He and his wife Marge would buy 100,000 lottery tickets and spend up to 20 hours checking and double checking them. They ended up making millions of dollars before the lottery was shut down. Do you ever wonder who’s in the front of your cab? It might just be someone with a story that will bowl you over. Hailu Mergia was a famous musician in Ethiopia but when life became difficult there, he and his band went on tour in the US. He ended up staying there and lived in Washington DC, where he drove a cab for nearly 20 years. But Hailu started publishing and performing his music again, and gave up the taxi when he got too busy touring the world. One year ago, 16-year-old Hiya Chowdhury from India received a personal invitation to the Queen’s residence in London, Buckingham Palace. And her life hasn’t been the same since. She was given an award for a short story she’d written for the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition, and Outlook was right by her side. Next week on Outlook we’ll be back at the Palace meeting this year’s winners, but today Hiya tells us what impact the award has had on her life. Our reporter, Suhail Haleem has been to meet her at her home in Delhi. (Image: Jerry and Marge Selbee. Photo credit: Rachel Koenig.)