Grenville and Georgie Hopkinson were appointed to serve with the United Mission to Nepal (UMN) in 2008. They, and their three children, live in Nepal's capital city, Kathmandu.
UMN, which has been in existence for over 50 years, seeks to serve the people of Nepal ‘in the name and spirit of Christ’.
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world with low household incomes and stark inequalities between urban and rural communities. A strict caste system, a bitter 10-year insurgency and strong gender bias have created a situation where most Nepalis are without access to basic education or health services.
Against this backdrop of huge need across the nation, UMN is emerging from a period of transition where it has moved from implementing development projects to supporting implementation by Nepali partner organisations. For UMN this is key to ensuring greater equity and sustainability of development activities in Nepal.
In his role as UMN's Strategy and Development Policy Director, Grenville works with UMN’s Leadership team to deliver the current strategic plan and develop a new one, whilst also supporting development policy dialogue and assisting in the annual planning process.
To date, Georgie's time and energy have been taken up with looking after their three young children - Toby, Ollie and Lulu - and ensuring that they have settled well into their new school and surroundings.
The Hopkinsons are from Bangor, where they have been active members of West Presbyterian Church.
Grenville previously worked as a management consultant running large public sector IT projects. He left full time employment in October 2007 to embark on a Masters degree in Development Management. Georgie’s background is in marketing.
Their journey to Nepal started in the Spring of 2002 when they attended an Alpha course and recommitted their lives to Christ. Three years later they spent a year in Kenya overseeing the PCEA Galana Community Development Project.
Returning to Northern Ireland after being in Kenya, they had an increasing sense of God’s call on their lives and were excited when the prospect of full time service with UMN became a reality.
General Prayer Points
Our weekly Overseas Prayerline bulletin contains up-to-date information and prayer requests from our mission personnel and partners overseas.
