North Carolina resident intends to use $100K lottery prize money to build more schools in Mali

Souleymane Sana, a North Carolina resident and dance instructor who hails from Mali, recently won a $100,000 lottery. The 39-year-old said the lottery prize would enable him to fulfill his “dream” of constructing more schools in his hometown in Mali.

In a press release, the North Carolina Education Lottery said Sana bought the $30 Millionaire Maker scratch-off ticket at a Neuse Shop & Fuel store in Kinston. The lottery winner said he’s going to continue doing his best to “help build more classrooms for the children in Mali” as “that is the thing” that makes him “really happy.”

Sana, who has established a nonprofit to help people back home in Mali, said one of the major reasons behind buying the scratch ticket was “to be able to keep helping” his compatriots. “This was my dream,” he revealed.

Besides the schools, Sana also said he intends to build a dance center, the Insider reported. “I love to dance and I want to teach the children in Mali to love it too,” the 39-year-old stated. “If you talk about culture and you talk about education, they both go together. Some of the money is going to be used to start building a dance center there.”

Lottery officials said Sana opted to take home a lump-sum amount of $71,259 after taxes. He also said he will not stop playing scratch-offs as his aim is to use the possible winnings to help others.

“My dream is just becoming true little by little and I hope it will keep going,” Sana said.