MONTREAL - Through the generosity of a complete stranger, Elenor Diaz will get her Christmas reunion with her family.
Diaz moved to Montreal from her native Philippines in 1997, leaving behind a husband and three young children.
With those children no longer so young, Diaz has been saving the money she's earned from working three jobs as a nanny, in a senior's residence and at a hotel to bring her family to Montreal to live with her.
It was supposed to become a reality on Christmas day, with Diaz having spent $4,000 cash to buy four plane tickets through a Manila-based travel agency ironically named Honour Travel and Touring.
But when her husband and their three children showed up at the airport, they were told their tickets had been cancelled. The travel agency through which Diaz purchased the tickets has vanished, and with it any hope of getting her money back.
The story received national media attention, and ultimately struck a nerve with Larry Modafferi, the CEO of a money wiring service that deals with members of the Filipino community very often.
He decided to right the wrong and buy four plane tickets for Diaz's family, who are scheduled to arrive late Tuesday night.
"It resonates with my family," Modafferi said. "My grandparents did the same thing. My father in law did the very same thing, left a very young family, came here, worked, was able to succeed to bring the family here finally. That's what sparked it."
The generous move also resonated with Diaz.
"A great miracle now starts," she said. "A new life for my family."
Diaz has not had a chance to meet her Good Samaritan yet, but she knows exactly what she'll do when she does.
"I want to thank and give him a hug," she said.
Modafferi did get a chance to exchange a few words with Diaz over the phone and was touched by her reaction.
"She blessed us," he said. "But we're already blessed, you know? It's her turn."
