Mohammed Ali, a quiet, powerful force helping Canberra community through coronavirus

Humanitarian Mohammed Ali is a force behind-the-scenes in the national capital, helping numerous charitable causes.

You may have heard his name read out as he sends an uplifting text to ABC Radio Canberra talkback or read it as he leaves a typically poetic message on social media.

The retired university lecturer, even used his 68^th birthday, on Thursday, as an excuse for a Facebook fundraiser for Helping ACT, the charitable organisation of which he is the president, providing non-perishable food and warm clothes to vulnerable people in Canberra, most recently now during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Ali moved to Canberra from Karachi, Pakistan, where he was a university lecturer in biochemistry, in 1991.

He came with his wife Nasim and their two son a third son was born in 1995, "a gift of Australia".

They now have two grand-daughters. Mr Ali has loved the city ever since he arrived.

"I think I have seen the city changing to a more loving, more peaceful and more caring city over the last nearly 30 years," he said.

Some of the groups he is a board member or member of include Companion House, the Canberra chapter of the Fred Hollows Foundation, ACT Multicultural Advisory Committee, the Refugee, Asylum Seeker and Humanitarian committee, Canberra Islamic Centre, and many more.

He worked at the Therapeutic Goods Administration for 22 years, head of the export medicines unit before his retirement 18 months ago.

His charitable nature really hit top gear at the TGA, in the wake of the 2004 tsunami, He started the TGA Curry Lunch Club, in which he and colleagues would cook meals at home to sell to their co-workers for lunch, raising thousands of dollars over the years for various causes.

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His retirement has seen his charitable work only continue, most recently for people affected by last summer's bushfires and now for vulnerable people who need help during the coronavirus pandemic.

His garage stores non-perishable food for Helping ACT, organising deliveries or pick-ups for people struggling.

He says he only does it with the support of others. "Friends are like oxygen to me," he said.

"I cannot say thank you enough to them for their support whenever there is a call for help."

Mr Ali said he was inspired by his father in Pakistan, a clerk for an insurance company, who cared for his extended family, including making sure his brothers and sisters had enough to eat.

"When you see that, you want to do whatever you can," he said.

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