Poloma is a village and municipality in Sabinov District in the Prešov Region of north-eastern Slovakia.
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In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1330.
The municipality lies at an altitude of 628 metres and covers an area of 5.911 km². It has a population of about 965 people.
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The word Poloma is also a name among the Waja people of Gombe state in the north-eastern part of Nigeria. The actual meaning of the word is however obscured in mystery but popularly associated with POLOMA YARDA who was the only child of his father YARDA and mother PANSARA. The ancestry of the POLOMA family has been traced as follow:
1. GUPTA 2. NIPI 3. AMMAR 4. YARDA 5. POLOMA
BIRTH AND HISTORY:
The actual year of birth of the late POLOMA YARDA was not recorded and is only traceable to important events of that period. He was one of the first converts to Christianity in Gelengu village of Waja District, in present day Gombe State of Nigeria. Consequently, the only Christian Missionary at the time in Gelengu, Mr. W.E. Schultz employed him as a Steward and after recognizing his potentials sent him to train as a Teacher in Billiri, Gombe State, in the year 1938. He was also among the first Christians to be married in Gelengu to SINDABA the daughter of a famous and legendary Warlord, BURTI DOBA. The couple had EIGHT children,only SIX of whom survived to adulthood.
After his teacher training in Billiri, POLOMA YARDA, came back to open THE FIRST Primary School in the entire Waja district which trained several important individuals into various positions of life in Gombe State and Nigeria today. POLOMA YARDA subsequently had brushes with a Missionary, J.S. Nicholson, who came after W.E Schultz mainly arising from NICHOLSON's disapproval of the intimacy between POLOMA YARDA and his relation, SAIDU BORMI, the Chief of GELENGU who later became the Chief of the entire WAJA district of Gombe State.
This tension between POLOMA YARDA and the J.S. NICHOLSON led to the punitive transfer of POLOMA to KULANI in 1949 - 50 in order to get him out of the way, where he went to start a new School altogether. It has been established that this diabolical action was conceived and implemented with the active connivance of some indigines of Gelengu, who were robots and bootlickers of J.S. SCHULTZ and envious of POLOMA's influence and popularity.
Due to very low enrollment of Pupils at the new school in KULANI, the required government attendance figures could not be met leading to the subsequent transfer of POLOMA to BILLIRI in 1951 as Headmaster of the S.I.M. school, and also because NICHOLSON and his stooges were still averse to the return of POLOMA to GELENGU where he had pioneered the first Primary school in WAJA District. The continued persecution and victimization of POLOMA attracted condemnation and disapproval leading some individuals, notably MEGWA JACHI, to permanently leave the Church.
POLOMA was warmly received and accepted in BILLIRI where he had a distinguished career among close associates like Pastor SAMBO, JAMES and DANGWARAM. In 1960, POLOMA was again transferred from BILLIRI to SAMARU-KATAF in present day Kaduna State of Nigeria as Headmaster of the S.I.M. School, where he continued his career and established life-long relationships with the ARCHIBALDS, who accepted and treated him like a brother.
He served in SAMARU-KATAF up until his retirement, when he returned to live among his people in GELENGU and also became a member of THE WAJA DISTRCT COUNCIL for five years. He later accepted to be a COURT MEMBER of the Waja Area Court until he voluntarily relinquished the post.