Mohammed Ali knows the panic of not having enough food to eat. He understands the anxiety of an empty bank account a long way from payday. He remembers the feeling of having to scramble to cover one debt with another.
He never wants another family to feel that same stress and struggle.
"No one must sleep hungry in Canberra," he said.
As the oldest of seven children growing up in Pakistan, Mohammed often fell into the role of head of the household, looking after his siblings while their father worked up to 18 hours a day as a supervisor for an insurance company.
There was rarely enough money. His childhood was one of responsibility rather than being carefree.
Now 74 and the founder of Helping ACT, Mohammed sees families in Canberra experiencing that same hardship of not making ends meet, even a world and decades away from his childhood in Pakistan.
It's what motivates him every day to help struggling Canberrans in whatever way he can, whether that means delivering a food hamper to a family, making sure kids are fed breakfast at school or dishing out hot meals to people sleeping rough in the national capital.
For this, he has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the ACT community.
The Franklin father-of-three and grandfather-of-two found out about the honour in an email.
"That came as one of the greatest ever surprises," he said.
"I was pinching myself, honestly speaking. I'm still coming to terms with it. It's completely overwhelming and very humbling."
Holding various other roles in the community including board member of Companion House, Mohammed was named the Canberra Citizen of the Year in 2022.
He founded Helping ACT in 2018, distributing donated, non-perishable food to families in need from his garage in Franklin.
The charity now has a permanent food bank in the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre above the Canberra Museum and Gallery off London Circuit.
Each week, families or individuals in need can submit an online request for food hampers, most of which are delivered by volunteers to their door. They supplement non-perishable food with meat, fruit and vegetables bought fresh each week from the Fyshwick markets.
Helping ACT also conducts a range of other services including stocking breakfast clubs at 10 schools and two colleges, providing a hot meal to people across Canberra from its mobile vans and buying and wrapping Christmas presents for children who otherwise would receive none.
Those seeking its help are often the working poor, parents who have jobs but still can't make ends meet.
"This work is very much needed in Canberra," Mohammed said.
"The situation is very, very scary."
Helping ACT's budget last year was $150,000, with 30 to 35 per cent of that comprising grants, some of them from government.
"All the rest has come from wonderful, kind, giving Canberra," he said.
Mohammed's hope is that Canberrans who are in a position to help could make a regular donation of $10 a month to Helping ACT.
"Imagine if we have 3000 Canberrans giving $10 a month - worth two cups of coffee - and we would be able to address the hunger situation currently prevailing in Canberra."
While donations run Helping ACT, Mohammed was frustrated the charity did not receive more help from the ACT government.
He is pushing for small, one-off government grants to families to help them buy food for a certain period, until they are in a better financial position.
The organisation is also looking for a space in the south of Canberra to extend its services to Tuggeranong.
"Things have to change and I believe we can do it," Mohammed said.
Canberra has been home for Mohammed for 35 years. He moved in 1991 from Karachi, Pakistan, where he was a university lecturer in biochemistry.
Mohammed later worked at the Therapeutic Goods Administration for 22 years, head of the export medicines unit before his retirement.
Now, he spends at least six hours a day as a volunteer, feeding Canberrans, no matter what their background.
"Hunger has no belief, poverty has no religion. It might come to anyone," he said.
"We have to keep our minds open, we have to keep our doors open and keep thinking while we have all these wonderful buildings and trams and tracks and things like that, the real beauty of Canberra is in the eyes of those people who we help."
