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Support for fundraiser has continued to roll in for Boundary Dam employee who died from COVID-19

The community has continued to be very generous with its support for a former Estevan resident who died last month following a battle with COVID-19.
Ali Syed
A GoFundMe campaign for the family of Ali Syed, left, has been well supported after Syed died of COVID-19 on April 25. The campaign started while Syed was still in hospital. Photo submitted

The community has continued to be very generous with its support for a former Estevan resident who died last month following a battle with COVID-19. 

Ali Syed passed away on April 25 at the age of 48, just days after his wife Misbah Zakir gave birth to their third child. He had been in hospital in Regina with COVID since late March.

Syed was an employee at SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Power Station. He and his family lived in Estevan and his children went to school here, and they moved to Regina for the start of the 2020-21 school year.

He would carpool to Estevan for work at Boundary Dam, and returned to Regina during his days off. 

His co-workers at Boundary Dam created a GoFundMe campaign for him in early April after he was hospitalized. 

It had an early goal of $5,000, but the support easily surpassed that amount, and the campaign continued. After his death, it shifted from a fundraiser to support his medical costs to one that would assist his wife and their three young children.  

As of Monday afternoon, it had raised more than $121,500, eclipsing the most recent goal of $120,000. There have been approximately 1,400 donors.  

Preston Benning, who wrote the information for the GoFundMe campaign, said the amount of donations received from across Canada reflected how loved and respected Syed was.  

“I’ve had multiple people from Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa reach out with stories about how they knew Ali and that they were going to spread the GoFundMe within their own communities. He was a great man; I had a pleasure working with him and he will be missed by many,” Benning told the Mercury.  

Syed was one of Benning’s favourite co-workers at Boundary Dam. He was always the first one to jump in and help out around the plant, regardless of the task. And he went above and beyond in all daily tasks.  

“Socially he was also great, he had great stories about life and made an effort to ask how you were doing and what was new in your life.”  

Syed and Zakir were very generous and would routinely bring home cooked authentic Pakistani dishes for everyone on shift to try, which was always very appreciated by Benning and other co-workers.  

Even when Syed would bring in food for himself and Benning hinted that the food smelt pretty good, Syed would offer to share. 

“My favourite memory of him would definitely be one time at work we brought about 20 different hot sauces and chicken strips and set up a gauntlet of mild to hottest. He went through them the quickest and made a tier list of the best tasting for every single one, and also a tier list for the hottest,” said Benning.  

“There were some pretty hot ones and once he got to the end he literally had beads of sweat coming down his forehead, and was sitting on the desk with his head in his arms. Every time he would look up he would just smile and shake his head and yell ‘Holy!’  

Everywhere Syed went he made a memorable impression on people, Benning said, and the proof of that is the donations and stories that have flooded in on GoFundMe.

Benning said he is going to stop increasing the goal but he will keep the fundraiser open until donations stop rolling in. There’s still been a few each day.  

“The money will definitely be needed to help Ali’s wife and family transition into a life without him. I’m sure it’s been difficult enough for them and they shouldn’t need to worry about financial problems for at least a few years.” 

Syed’s health quickly deteriorated after he tested positive for the virus. Throughout the last year, Benning noted Syed had been very cautious and mindful of social distancing and wearing a mask. 

His wife was nine months pregnant with their third child when he was hospitalized. She also tested positive just weeks before giving birth and was hospitalized, but was later released. 

Benning wrote on April 22 that Zakir gave birth to a beautiful baby girl the previous day. By all accounts, Zakir and the baby are doing very well. Before the birth, she got to see her husband. 

A funeral/burial was held April 26 at the Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery in Regina.