About Patrick and Anja
Patrick & Anja
In the Fall of 2008, Dot Electric owner and founder Patrick Van Delden accompanied a mission team to the African country of Liberia with his church, Imago Dei Community. Liberia was ravaged by civil war until only a few years ago, and much of the country’s infrastructure was destroyed, including the electrical infrastructure. The people’s hopes were ravaged as well…the war left 50% of the population younger than 17.
Patrick and his first student, Marcus
Patrick saw a deep desire among Liberians to rebuild their country, and became compelled to use his 30 years of experience to teach young Liberians the business of electrical contracting. Anja Van Delden, a spiritual director with experience in reconciliation and counseling, found herself passionately interested in fostering healing among Liberians working to rebuild their lives.
Upon returning to the United States, Patrick and Anja created Dot Liberia, and began making plans to return to begin their work. Dot Liberia exists to train Liberian men and women in the electrical trade, generating revenue and encouraging economic growth in Monrovia, Liberia and outlying areas, and supporting the spread of reconciliation and peace among the people.
About Liberia
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2008, the nation is estimated to be home to 3,489,072 people and cover 111,369 square kilometres (43,000 sq mi). Liberia has a hot equatorial climate with most rainfall arriving in summer with harsh harmattan winds in the dry season. Liberia’s populated Pepper Coast is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the sparse inland is forested, later opening to a plateau of drier grasslands.
Founded as a colony in 1822 by freed slaves from the United States, the area was already inhabited by various indigenous ethnic groups who had occupied the region for centuries. In 1847, the colony of freed slaves declared independence and founded the Republic of Liberia. In 1980, the government was overturned in a military coup, and from 1989 to 2005 Liberia was in a state of flux, witnessing two civil wars, the First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996) and the Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003) that displaced hundreds of thousands of people and devastated the country’s economy. – Wikipedia
