Rob Wood worked with Moral Re-Armament (MRA), later Initiatives of Change (IofC), from the late 1960s. Speaking at an IofC Indonesia webinar in 2020, he said he became involved at 17 and that it had been his full-time voluntary work ever since.[1] The earliest trace of him on foranewworld.org is a recording from Caux, the movement's conference centre in Switzerland, dated 25 August 1968. He is listed among the people in the recording of a meeting held the day after the cast performed "The Vanishing Island" in the Caux theatre, at which several of the cast spoke. He is listed as a speaker again at a Caux meeting on 15 August 1969.

He then toured with "Anything to Declare" (ATD), a travelling show. Photos tagged with his name include a 1969 ATD performance of the Story of Noah, a 1970 cast photo by Danielle Maillefer, a 1970 folkloric scene on stage, and a 1970 picture of the cast learning to eat Chinese food at Nanyang University in Singapore. The archive also credits him as both composer and lyricist of two songs, "Waterproof teabag" and "My Name is Tomorrow". He later released a CD of his own songs, Signposts Along the Journey of Life, which includes "Everyone has a story" and "Listening".[1]

Asia remained a focus for him. In the September 1995 World Bulletin he described two months spent in Asia. He wrote about Burmese democracy activists in Thailand working to bridge divisions within their movement, an MRA meeting in Cambodia attended by both sides of a divided political faction, and Khasi students in north-east India writing to Cambodian students. He also reported that Koreans had decided to host the next Asia-Pacific Youth Conference.

He is married to Cheryl Wood, whom he calls the love of his life, and they worked together for decades. Together they hosted an international community house in Melbourne, which was their home for 28 years. The couple volunteered their skills and time with IofC Australia for more than 50 years. Their work took them to many conflict spots around the world and to diverse communities in Melbourne. In a 2020 interview for IofC Australia, Mike Worsman asked them about the thinking behind their work and commitment. At the IofC Indonesia webinar the same year, held on Indonesia's Independence Day, the couple gave a presentation on seeking wisdom through inner reflection and on living by the moral standards of honesty, purity, unselfishness and love.[1]

External sources

1. IofC Indonesia, accessed on 15/10/2026