Story by Christian Given Magaling, PSFI Visual Communications Officer
Some journeys begin with a carefully mapped plan. Others unfold through unexpected opportunities, quiet acts of courage, and people who help us recognize where we are meant to be.
For Demi E. Nasol, purpose has always been rooted in community.
It began in Davao City, where her identity as a member of the Bagobo Tagabawa ethnolinguistic group shaped her understanding of culture, belonging, and service. It grew through nearly eight years of working with Indigenous Peoples. Today, it continues through her role as a Program Officer at Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI), where she helps create opportunities for communities across Cagayan de Oro and neighboring areas.
Her days are filled with site visits, stakeholder meetings, coordination work, reports, and program implementation. But beneath all these responsibilities is something that cannot be captured in a work plan: a genuine love for people.
For Demi, development work is not simply about delivering programs. It is about listening to people, earning their trust, and walking alongside them as they build better lives.
A heart shaped by service
Demi’s relationship with her Indigenous roots deepened while she was studying in an Indigenous Peoples school. Although she is no longer fluent in the Bagobo Tagabawa language, the experience allowed her to better understand her community’s traditions, history, and heritage.
It also helped form the values that would eventually guide her professional life.
Before joining PSFI, Demi spent nearly eight years with an organization dedicated to advancing the welfare of Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines. What began as volunteer work eventually became a full-time vocation.
Galing ako sa NGO sector, kaya dala-dala ko talaga yung puso para tumulong sa komunidad. Na-instill sa amin bilang volunteers na tumulong nang walang hinihinging kapalit. Yung heart of service talaga.
As a Program Coordinator, she oversaw tertiary education initiatives and formation programs that created opportunities for Indigenous youth and their communities. Through this work, she came to understand that meaningful development does not happen by doing everything for people. It happens when they are given the opportunity and support to shape their own future.
This belief was deeply personal for Demi. She, too, had once been a scholar and beneficiary.
She knew what it meant for someone to believe in her potential. She understood how educational assistance could open doors that once seemed beyond reach. The opportunities she received did more than help her move forward. They inspired her to help others find their own path.
The opportunity she did not plan for
Demi’s journey to PSFI began during a period of uncertainty.
After leaving her previous position, she planned to take a break and give herself time to reflect. She did not have a detailed roadmap or an immediate destination in mind.
Then, a friend encouraged her to explore an opportunity with PSFI.
She visited the Foundation’s website and began learning about its mission and programs. Its work with Indigenous Peoples and other underserved sectors immediately resonated with her. Here was an opportunity to continue serving communities while expanding the reach of her work.
The alignment felt natural.
Nearly two years later, Demi still considers her arrival at PSFI an unexpected blessing. What began as a simple suggestion from a friend led her to an organization where her experience, values, and passion for service could take root and continue to grow.
Learning to trust her own voice
As Demi immersed herself in PSFI’s programs, she discovered something that would transform her professionally: the power of being trusted.
“Noong natanggap ako sa PSFI at mas nakilala ko ang mga programa nito, doon ko rin na-realize kung gaano kahalaga ang tiwala ng isang organisasyon sa isang tao.”
She was not confined to implementation tasks. She was encouraged to share ideas, help shape decisions, and take the lead when opportunities arose.
“Binigyan ako ng pagkakataong magbigay ng boses sa kung paano maipapatupad ang mga programa sa komunidad, mag-lead, at mapakinggan ng mga tao.”
With every project, community visit, and stakeholder meeting, Demi began discovering abilities she had not fully recognized in herself. She learned to think more strategically, make decisions with greater confidence, and take on responsibilities that once felt intimidating.
At the same time, she remained grounded in the realities of the people she served.
“Natutunan ko na ring mahalin ang trabaho ko.”
Today, her responsibilities span both field and office work. She coordinates with communities, partners, and government agencies, prepares communication materials, recruits participants, and oversees the implementation of programs.
Yet amid the many demands of her role, the part she treasures most remains the simplest: connecting with people.
Ang maganda sa trabaho ko, nakakasama at nakakausap ko mismo ang mga beneficiaries. Nagkakaroon kami ng genuine connection, at hindi lang umiikot sa trabaho ang relasyon namin.
Seeing herself in the communities she serves
While much of Demi’s earlier career focused on Indigenous Peoples, her work at PSFI brought her into the lives of fisherfolk, entrepreneurs, senior citizens, community leaders, local stakeholders, and partner organizations.
The sectors may have changed, but her reason for serving remained the same.
“Kahit hindi na puro IP communities ang sineserbisyuhan ko, nandiyan pa rin yung passion at apoy para tumulong. Nakikita ko rin yung sarili ko sa mga komunidad na pinaglilingkuran namin.”
Perhaps that is why the relationships she builds often extend beyond the duration of a program.
Some beneficiaries visit simply to thank her. Others share updates about their families and livelihoods or ask for her advice. A few check on her well-being with the same sincerity that she shows when checking on theirs.
Over time, they become more than beneficiaries. They become friends.
These moments have taught Demi that meaningful development work is built not only through resources and technical expertise, but also through trust. Behind every target and accomplishment is a person carrying dreams, struggles, and the determination to build a better life.
Stepping forward when leadership was needed
One of the defining moments in Demi’s PSFI journey came in 2025, during the implementation of the Payao Deployment Project for fisherfolk communities in Cagayan de Oro under the Shell LiveWIRE program.
The initiative marked the first time PSFI led the project’s implementation in partnership with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the local government unit.
As the primary person on the ground, Demi coordinated communications, organized stakeholders, managed implementation activities, and helped develop the Payao management plan.
The responsibility was significant. The project required different organizations and community members to work toward a shared goal. It demanded careful planning, clear communication, and the courage to make decisions in the field.
When the project was successfully implemented that April, Demi saw it as more than a professional achievement. It was proof of what communities, government institutions, and development organizations could accomplish when they trusted one another and worked together.
It also showed her how much she had grown.
The woman who had once entered PSFI uncertain of what awaited her had become someone others could depend on to help move an important initiative forward.
The story behind a small bicycle
For all the large projects Demi has helped implement, one of the stories closest to her heart began with something much smaller: a bicycle.
In 2024, she met a woman entrepreneur through the Shell LiveWIRE program who earned a living by selling binangkal around her barangay.
After participating in the program, the entrepreneur gradually improved her operations and expanded her customer base. As her business grew, she was able to purchase a bicycle that made it easier to sell her products within the community.
To others, it may have seemed like a modest purchase. To Demi, the bicycle represented movement in every sense of the word.
It carried the entrepreneur farther. It made her daily work easier. More importantly, it reflected what persistence, opportunity, and encouragement could make possible.
Demi continued following her journey through social media. In time, she watched the business grow from door-to-door selling into an enterprise with its own store.
Ang saya makita yung pagpupursigi nila. Wala man akong naibigay na pera, pero malaking bagay na rin na naipakita ko ang suporta ko sa kanila at na-encourage silang magpatuloy.
The experience reminded her that impact is not always found in dramatic transformations. Sometimes, it begins with knowledge shared, confidence restored, or one person being reminded not to give up.
Sometimes, it looks like a bicycle carrying someone closer to her dreams.
Growing so she can give more
Outside work, Demi finds joy in hiking and outdoor adventures. Time spent on the trail gives her balance and perspective. Each climb reminds her that growth requires patience and that even the longest journeys are completed one step at a time.
The same principle guides her approach to service.
For Demi, PSFI’s 44th anniversary theme, “Driven by Purpose, Powered by People,” is not simply a message. It reflects how she chooses to live and work.
“Mahalaga na habang tumutulong ka sa kapwa, tinutulungan mo rin ang sarili mo para mas maging epektibo kang tao.”
She believes that serving others also requires caring for one’s own growth. She continues to expand her knowledge, strengthen her skills, and become more effective in the work entrusted to her.
That growth is made possible by the people around her.
Ang maganda sa PSFI, kahit hindi mo ka-site o ka-program ang isang tao, handa pa rin silang tumulong. Walang sense of competition, kundi collaboration at support.
For Demi, this culture reflects the same spirit PSFI seeks to nurture in communities: people working together, sharing what they know, and helping one another move forward.
“Nakakaproud na nakikita kong naggo-grow ako bilang tao at bilang professional dito sa PSFI.”
A purpose lived every day
As PSFI celebrates 44 years of service, Demi’s journey reminds us that an organization’s mission lives through the people who carry it into communities each day.
It lives in the courage to take responsibility when leadership is needed. It lives in the patience to listen before acting. It lives in every genuine relationship formed and every person encouraged to keep going.
Demi may have arrived at PSFI through an opportunity she never planned for, but she found a place where her roots, experiences, and aspirations could come together.
Mahirap gumising araw-araw kung wala kang direksyon o purpose. Ginagawa ko ang best ko para sa sarili ko, sa pamilya ko, at para sa PSFI.
