Emília, a name given to Lusa, for privacy reasons, arrived in Canada around 1970 when she was only 20 years old. Five years later she started working for the fast food chain KFC, and is still doing so, despite the covid-19 pandemic.

One of the regular customers, Jason Schweitzer, 39, decided to create, through the website 'gofundme' a fundraising campaign for the septuagenarian. called “Emilia has served the community since 1975”

“One of the last times I went there, one of the customers was not very friendly and I saw the delicate way in which she handled the whole situation. With all her sympathy, dedication and the years she managed to keep her job, she deserved to be recognized and, that night, I decided to create the campaign” said Jason.

The initial objective was to reach two thousand dollars (1,300 euros), but the community's response was inspiring and it was decided to “continue with the campaign for another week”.

The money raised, which continues to increase almost every hour, will help with Emilia’s daily expenses such, public transport, and health care.

Currently, Emília continues to work five days a week at the restaurant.

The Canadian also states that his connection with Europe and more precisely with Portugal began about 10 years ago, being part of a community of musicians and athletes, he has had the chance to visit “beautiful countries with courageous and proud citizens of excellence.”

“Portugal is a beautiful place; it has excellent sports players. I am Canadian with great pride and I am also happy that Portugal also has ice hockey, a sport with a lot of tradition in North America”, concluded Jason.