Filipino family reunited in Montreal

Kind strangers come forward to bring them together

A Filipino family whose Christmas was ruined when a fraudulent travel agency made off with their hard-earned savings was reunited at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport Wednesday morning thanks to the help of generous strangers. Elanor Diaz, a Montreal nanny, had worked at three jobs to save up enough money to bring her husband and three children, aged 19, 16 and 8, to Canada for the holidays. But the $4,000 she sent to a travel agency in the Philippines vanished— along with the owners of the agency. When the story made headlines in Montreal and beyond, people reached out to help Diaz, and donated money for plane tickets for the family. The family was reunited because of the kindness of strangers. “They’ve grown up so much,” Diaz said when she saw her children. “This, to me, is Christmas.”

Montreal Gazette