Polina Poliakova: Soles4Souls in Jamaica
Oct 02 | Women's Gymnastics, Scarlet Knights for Life™
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – This past summer, Rutgers gymnastics junior Polina Poliakova took part in a trip to Jamaica as part as Souls4Soles through the Rutgers Leadership Academy. Poliakova was born in Russia, grew up in Great Britain and is now studying psychology at RU. Despite all her previous world travels, the trip to Montego Bay had an impact unlike any other. Here is Poliakova in her own words...
"When I went to Jamaica with Soles4Souls, I had no idea what to expect. I had never been on a volunteering trip, I had never been to Jamaica, and some of the people that were in my team I had never spoken to in the two years that I've been at Rutgers. I never expected to have had my heart filled with so much love and gratitude, least of all by a little 5-year-old boy called Marky. We did a lot of amazing things on our trip, including sorting and organizing over 500 pairs of shoes to distribute to people, visited Montego Bay Infant School and the Child Development Agency at St. Johns Church Hall to distribute shoes, visited Elgin Town Basic School in Lucea where we built a playground fence for the children, so that they had a safe place to play outside; and many other wonderful cultural immersions.
All of these activities and events were as beautifully humbling as the other, but none compared to when we went to the infant school. Of course, it was our first exposure to such mission work and it would arguably be the most impactful because of it being our first job, but it genuinely was the most memorable and impactful for me due to the experience.
Marky was one of the children that sat with me to be fitted for shoes. The moment he sat down across from me, I could see that this child's smile was overflowing with light and happiness. Something as simple as some new shoes to play in made him light up the whole room with his giggles and smile. It was beautiful.
After giving out the shoes, we were able to play with the children in the school yard. Their playground was not much bigger than the size of a standard classroom and was dotted with some basic stations for the children to play on - some slides, a see-saw, a couple of climbing frames and some swing sets. It wasn't a lot, but the children made use of every single station with the most enlightening shrieks of delight and smiles so wide, that it was impossible not to smile back.
Marky instantly found me on the playground and invited me to come and play with him and his friends all over the place. We went on the slides, the monkey bars, played kitchen in the climbing frame, went on the seesaw and ended up under a tree in the shade to hide away from the glaring morning sun. When we were called in to take a picture together and bid our final farewells, Marky ran off, instructing me to wait for a moment that I never expected would change the way that I see my life now. Upon his return, he ran towards me with excitement and the same inning smile on his face that he had when he first put on his new pair of shoes. In his hand he was offering money at me, saying 'here this is for you, take it.' My heart absolutely melted… That this child, who doesn't know me, who clung to me, hugging me and playing with me as if I was long a member of his family, was coming to give me money, simply because I gave him some new shoes and for being a playmate for an hour so.
I was so taken aback because I was simply giving with no expectation of anything in return, yet this little boy, with very little time on this earth was so kind as to want to give, what I imagine to be his pocket money, possibly one of the few things of value that he has to me. Simply for giving him love and being a friend for him. It really made me think of the genuine childhood kindness that comes deep from within our human natures. That it is such a natural instinct to want to give and provide, and that giving even the smallest thing, can mean the world to others… And albeit it may be considered a very small moment, perhaps of minuscule meaning to others, for me, it turned my world upside down. I am more conscious to take time to appreciate the things and people that I have around me, the resources that are so easily available to us and perhaps not so to others, and am conscious of what I can do to help those around me, what abilities and resources do I have that I can give to others. Marky will never really know how much of an impact he has had on me and the way I see my life, but I hope that the people that I help in the future will. Marky's story will never stop living on for me, and as long as I keep giving as much as I can, I know that I will be doing my best for Marky, for myself and most importantly for others. I wish only that others will hopefully pursue a mission trip or some community service throughout their lives to get even the slightest piece of enlightenment that I know my entire group got from this journey. I can wholeheartedly say that we have all left Jamaica finding more of ourselves in others, and giving even more. I hope that this reaches as many people as possible and will hopefully put across just how much everyone can make a huge impact in the world with a little bit of love."
"When I went to Jamaica with Soles4Souls, I had no idea what to expect. I had never been on a volunteering trip, I had never been to Jamaica, and some of the people that were in my team I had never spoken to in the two years that I've been at Rutgers. I never expected to have had my heart filled with so much love and gratitude, least of all by a little 5-year-old boy called Marky. We did a lot of amazing things on our trip, including sorting and organizing over 500 pairs of shoes to distribute to people, visited Montego Bay Infant School and the Child Development Agency at St. Johns Church Hall to distribute shoes, visited Elgin Town Basic School in Lucea where we built a playground fence for the children, so that they had a safe place to play outside; and many other wonderful cultural immersions.
All of these activities and events were as beautifully humbling as the other, but none compared to when we went to the infant school. Of course, it was our first exposure to such mission work and it would arguably be the most impactful because of it being our first job, but it genuinely was the most memorable and impactful for me due to the experience.
Marky was one of the children that sat with me to be fitted for shoes. The moment he sat down across from me, I could see that this child's smile was overflowing with light and happiness. Something as simple as some new shoes to play in made him light up the whole room with his giggles and smile. It was beautiful.
After giving out the shoes, we were able to play with the children in the school yard. Their playground was not much bigger than the size of a standard classroom and was dotted with some basic stations for the children to play on - some slides, a see-saw, a couple of climbing frames and some swing sets. It wasn't a lot, but the children made use of every single station with the most enlightening shrieks of delight and smiles so wide, that it was impossible not to smile back.
Marky instantly found me on the playground and invited me to come and play with him and his friends all over the place. We went on the slides, the monkey bars, played kitchen in the climbing frame, went on the seesaw and ended up under a tree in the shade to hide away from the glaring morning sun. When we were called in to take a picture together and bid our final farewells, Marky ran off, instructing me to wait for a moment that I never expected would change the way that I see my life now. Upon his return, he ran towards me with excitement and the same inning smile on his face that he had when he first put on his new pair of shoes. In his hand he was offering money at me, saying 'here this is for you, take it.' My heart absolutely melted… That this child, who doesn't know me, who clung to me, hugging me and playing with me as if I was long a member of his family, was coming to give me money, simply because I gave him some new shoes and for being a playmate for an hour so.
I was so taken aback because I was simply giving with no expectation of anything in return, yet this little boy, with very little time on this earth was so kind as to want to give, what I imagine to be his pocket money, possibly one of the few things of value that he has to me. Simply for giving him love and being a friend for him. It really made me think of the genuine childhood kindness that comes deep from within our human natures. That it is such a natural instinct to want to give and provide, and that giving even the smallest thing, can mean the world to others… And albeit it may be considered a very small moment, perhaps of minuscule meaning to others, for me, it turned my world upside down. I am more conscious to take time to appreciate the things and people that I have around me, the resources that are so easily available to us and perhaps not so to others, and am conscious of what I can do to help those around me, what abilities and resources do I have that I can give to others. Marky will never really know how much of an impact he has had on me and the way I see my life, but I hope that the people that I help in the future will. Marky's story will never stop living on for me, and as long as I keep giving as much as I can, I know that I will be doing my best for Marky, for myself and most importantly for others. I wish only that others will hopefully pursue a mission trip or some community service throughout their lives to get even the slightest piece of enlightenment that I know my entire group got from this journey. I can wholeheartedly say that we have all left Jamaica finding more of ourselves in others, and giving even more. I hope that this reaches as many people as possible and will hopefully put across just how much everyone can make a huge impact in the world with a little bit of love."
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's gymnastics, follow the program on Twitter (@RUGymnastics), Facebook (/RUGymnastics), Instagram (@rutgersgymnastics) and Snapchat (rutgersgym).
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Gymnastics
Rutgers Athletics Launches the Athletic Excellence Fund
Monday, October 06
R Fund, Knights of the Raritan are YouKnighted | Million Dollar Match
Friday, February 28
Rutgers x Nike Apparel Partnership
Thursday, December 19
Rutgers Athletics 2023-24 Year in Review
Friday, July 12
