In December 2023 we held our 5^th UBI4ALL raffle and the holder of the lucky number drawn this time came from France. Christelle was as surprised as all our winners were and at first glance could not believe that it is true. We organized a zoom meeting where she could talk to some of our team members. Not being sure if her English skills would be good enough, she was attending this meeting with a strong support, her daughter Marie.

And what a zoom this was!

At first we exchanged all the necessary information, made the ID-card check to be sure we had addressed the right person and then the emotions overwhelmed us all. Christelle’s daughter told us how happy she was that her mother was the winner because she really merited to have a better financial situation and can now also think about her own needs and dreams. 

Christelle is a social worker

was a single mother and has low income. She always tried hard to make ends meet and did not always succeed. Raising her child alone she wanted to give her all the possibilities to lead a good life in future and the key to this of course is education. Christelle sacrificed herself to be able to pay a private school and enable her daughter to study at the university. Now Marie has a degree in Linguistics (French as foreign language) and can afford a career as an associate professor in her field and a decent life thanks to her selfless and strong mother.  

At that point all four of us were already in tears

because hearing this story out of the mouth of a proud and thankful daughter was too much to holding them back. So here stands a woman who finally could also think of herself.

How did Christelle experience this year

with 800 Euros plus a month? Practical woman as she is, she started at the basics as soon as the first payment arrived in January 2024. Her old car needed repairing and a new set of winter tires. Next thing she bought was a sofa for her living room and then the cooker top needed to be replaced. After this was settled she thought about things she hardly had ever done in her life because of lack of money. These were also simple things that most of us take for granted like going out for dinner or seeing a film at the cinema. 

And then: travelling! This remained a dream for almost her entire life. But now it is possible! Christelle booked a trip to Morocco to see and walk through the desert for the first time. She said it was a life-changing experience for her. “You can let go all bad feelings there”, she said. The magic of the desert lets us human beings feel what we are: just a tiny part of the universe to which we are connected. “All you need are two healthy legs, water, a camel and good company“, explained Christelle, “nothing more”. After her first trip in February 2024 she came back to Morocco again in the autumn and it felt like coming home to her. 

‍

Together with Mary she also travelled to Brussels, enjoyed several fancy cocktails in an even more fancy hotel bar and had a little “dance” in the street with her favourite chansonnier Jacques Brel.

Even if she had been restricted to enjoy herself in such a way for a long time Christelle obviously never lost her good vibes and talent to celebrate. 

She also shared a lot of her money with family and friends. She enjoyed being enabled to invite her whole family for celebrating her Dad’s birthday in a restaurant. “You know, it is so great not to feel perpetual worries!”, Christelle told me. 

And how does she look at the end of the payments now that one year has passed? “It was a great experience and I could afford some of my dreams to come true.” She always can look back at this year with a lot of memories in her heart and still can drive safely to visit her parents on icy and snowy roads with her good winter tires. 

‍

And another big adventure is awaiting Christelle. She saved some money for a trip to Mongolia next summer. 

‍

Bon voyage, Christelle!

‍

‍

‍