Reuniting a family – a holiday gift from Canadians

Sponsored to come to Canada as a nanny, Elenor Diaz immigrated to Canada from the Philippines in 2006 and became a Canadian permanent resident in 2009. She has been working three jobs to save enough money to bring her family to Canada for Christmas and to begin a sponsorship application to permanently settle her family in Canada.

Diaz saved over $4,000 and sent the money to a travel agent in the Philippines to pay for round-trip airline tickets for her husband and three children. She soon learned that the tickets had been cancelled after the travel agent had closed his business. Diaz lost the money and lost any hope of seeing her family for Christmas.

Learning about the situation, one of Diaz’s employers, Lissa Maytas, wrote to a local newspaper. Within a day of the article appearing the paper, Canadians began offering help to bring the family over to Canada. In particular, a Montrealer, Larry Modafferi, paid nearly $6,000 for new plane tickets for Diaz’s family.

Earlier this Wednesday morning, Diaz was finally reunited with her husband and children at Montreal’s airport. Thanks to the generosity of Canadians around the country, Diaz’s Christmas wish of being with her family has finally come true.

Learn more about Canada's Family Sponsorship Program.