Rob grew up in Fiji. In fact, until the age of 12, Rob lived in Bua, a small provincial town on the north-west side of the North Island, Vanua Levu in Fiji prior to relocating to Melbourne, Australia. In 2013, Bua was listed as one of the poorest towns in Fiji with 63 percent of its people living under the poverty line. 

Rob experienced poverty first-hand and saw family members perish from illness, disease and lack of access to medical supplies, food and water.  Despite this, Rob recalls growing up in Fiji surrounded by happy memories of family and friends and the comfort of a strong family culture, nurturing through the good times and confronting through the bad. Rob experienced times of which he did not have food to eat and felt a sense of responsibility to ensure there would be a time that he would be able to give back to his Fijian extended family with ease.

When given the opportunity of schooling and a life in Australia, Rob had the drive to succeed. Over 30 years later, Rob is now able to share his experiences and passion to positively transform lives in Fiji.

Rob’s mind for business encouraged him to explore broader ways of providing assistance to eliminate the poverty many Fijian families face. Through professional learnings and a spiritual drive for change, Katalyst was born.

Katalyst is a unique philosophy. It does not rely solely on donations of goods to eliminate poverty, it relies on creating opportunities. Katalyst’s values establish a long-term sustainable solution to poverty, one which will result in access to all aspects of education and work. Katalyst seeks to create long-term economic sustainability.