Walking and talking in Puerto Rico with @RestMission and guest Ghesi Stojanov
In “Walking and talking in Puerto Rico with @RestMission and guest Ghesi Stojanov,” Brian T. Frederiksen joins Jess on the ground in Puerto Rico for a candid look at REST Mission’s growing humanitarian work and what it takes to turn a vision into action. With volunteers already onsite and 56 more arriving soon, the conversation centers on a major dental and medical clinic set to launch, alongside the early stages of a larger multi-phase effort aimed at serving local communities in practical, lasting ways. Listeners get a behind-the-scenes view of the logistics, the donated medical and dental equipment, and the momentum building around the mission. Beyond the clinic, the episode explores REST’s longer-term plan to expand into full-time medical and optical care, plus after-school enrichment programs for local children. Jess explains why those programs matter, pointing to high dropout rates, economic hardship, and the need for engaging, supportive spaces that help kids stay connected to school and imagine a wider future. The result is an inspiring conversation about service, community impact, and building systems that meet real needs — a story that will resonate with contractors, small-business owners, and anyone who values organization, leadership, and purpose-driven work.
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(640 words)All right, Jess, we're in Puerto Rico. How crazy is this? It's very crazy. So, we're here for rest. And I'm I'm honored, by the way, that you let me, FWA, and everybody down here to help you uh with some of this stuff. And I'm honored you guys are here. It's awesome. So, the Tell everybody about REST, though. I mean, cuz I know I mean, this has been a wild ride the last day or so. What's going on with REST? What are we doing out here? There are so much happening with REST. We have like four moving parts that are happening at the same time. We are the first wave of volunteers coming in like getting everything ready. We have 56 other volunteers coming on Thursday. 56 56. Yes. With one of the main things being a dental medical clinic that is happening from the 3rd to the 7th. Okay. Which we're super excited about. Medical clinic. So I mean I mean this is a beautiful area. I mean what do we have? But I mean this is really cool. I mean this is really clean. Yes, it's been quiet except for uh what's going by right now for the most part since we got here. But uh what I mean and there seems to be lots of activities and things to do out here besides I mean we're like a rock store away from the beach. They are. Yep. What's up? The people are super Puerto Ricans are super friendly by the way. They will talk to you. They will say hi to you and they will want to know your life. Yeah, I've talked to a lot of great people. So tell me about the clinic that's going on. So So we're going to be setting this thing up this week. I saw the pallets full of medical equipment that you got, which is all dentistry equipment. This is I I've been calling it phase one. Phase one. Phase one. So, it's more than just the dentistry stuff, but also you're going to set up some stuff for after school for the kids. Yes. So, there's multiple phases to what we're doing at REST because this is our first moment, our first time doing what we're doing here at REST. We're starting a bit smaller and then we're going to be building out. So, when it comes to the dental clinic, we're starting with just the dental itself, but eventually we want a full-time medical, a full-time optical um to really help support the needs of the people here in Puerto Rico. Also, we want to then extend it to an afterchool program where we're offering enrichment for the locals here. So, we want to do things like drama, art, music, STEM, just to add a different flavor and spice to show the kids that there's other things out there that'll help enrich their lives. So, there's a lot a lot goes into this because I know you've been dealing with the local government and everything down here in Puerto Rico for a while and from what I'm getting out of it is that um there is there is a high dropout rate and things like this for school and stuff because uh because of you know basically the area and stuff that you're in. So, these after school programs are going to uh actually help keep them engaged in school and keep them there, right? Yes. Yes. So right now statistically what the numbers are showing is that there's a high dropout rate about 40 to 50% from 9th grade on because you know there's a huge need and demand here right the poverty level here is about um 40 50% as well so most people here live on an income about Like
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