MANILA, Philippines - Norma Caayao has always kept her hometown, the laid-back town of Tiwi, Albay, close to her heart. She remembers when she left this simple town and went to Naga City to seek greener pastures. While Manay Norms, as she is called, did enjoy her work in the city, the longing she felt for home lingered. Thus, when the chance came to spend the Holy Week away from work, she did not hesitate to head back to Tiwi.
What began as a vacation became the perfect opportunity for a long career with what turned out to be a pioneering geothermal development venture. The small town of Tiwi, she remembers so well, was abuzz with geothermal exploration activities. A touch of curiosity plus an excuse to stay in her hometown encouraged her to apply for a job. After successfully hurdling the screening process, she was hired – and ended up spending the next 32 years with the same company, Philippine Geothermal Inc., now Chevron Geothermal Philippines Holdings, Inc. (CGPHI). She rose from the ranks to become Human Resources Supervisor and then later Operations Community Liaison Officer for the Tiwi Asset Affairs Office.
The petite Manay Norms took on the physically demanding challenge of fieldwork and went everywhere, from the upland geothermal barangays to the farming and fishing communities. She interacted with community residents to listen to their concerns and how best these can be addressed. The other aspect of her work involved engaging the company’s diverse set of stakeholders to support asset objectives and achieve incident free operations.
During her stint with Asset Affairs she helped provide opportunities in education, enterprise development, as well as health, environment and safety programs to the host communities. For her, carrying out these programs was more of a personal advocacy; in particular she found personal joy in providing access to education for underprivileged youth and protecting the environment and natural resources of Tiwi.
Manay Norms remembers the first batch of participants of the capacity building programs that her company organized for Tiwinhon women. One lady tearfully expressed her heartfelt gratitude to Manay Norms for encouraging them to make use of their own energy and potential through relevant community projects. It was at that moment that she lost any doubts about her career.
“I have come to love this kind of work, more so to realize that my efforts contribute to the well-being of my community,” Manay Norms said.
Her mission is to build a bridge between Tiwinhons and the geothermal company. Some of the people she deals with are groups who might otherwise be intimidated at the prospect of having to approach a big corporation.
For CGPHI and the people of Tiwi, Norma Caayao has become a mother figure. A widow with three children that she single-handedly raised, Manay Norms managed to include the entire Tiwinhon community under her motherly care.
Looking ahead, Manay Norms sees a dynamic life in retirement. While there are still plans to carry on with projects that will help uplift the rural communities, she looks forward to more moments of leisure. She is discovering the joys of photography, and is now busy capturing the picturesque landscape of Tiwi, and the moments that touch people’s lives.