In 2022, Elias Muthomi Gitonga made waves when he was named among the recipients of the Global Child Prodigy Awards held in Dubai. The six-year-old Kenyan was recognized in the Category of “Intelligence” for his outstanding knowledge of the aviation industry at a tender age.
He received the award from the UAE Minister of Culture, Youth, and Social Development, His Highness Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nayyan, in an event held at the Mariot Hotel, Aljadaff, Dubai in October 2022.
Elias began exhibiting mind-blowing mental abilities at the age of one when he could read things that nobody had ever taught him. By age four, he displayed love and a good understanding of helicopters and could easily name and remember different parts of a helicopter.
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“We noticed this gift when he was a year and six months old. He could read things on TV and also the words written in the newspapers. He then started showing great interest in planes and helicopters,” his father, Moses Kitonga, said in an interview with Inooro Tv.
In 2019, his passion for aviation caught the attention of the Kenyan military, who invited him to its Eastleigh military airstrip to learn more about helicopters.
Recently, a private air company in Nanyuki also gave the smart boy a chance to interact with its planes, Tuko News Kenya reported. The super-brilliant kid excels beyond expectation in academics and was promoted from Kindergarten to Grade One at age four.
“His brain can handle things above his age. He is a four-year-old child who should be doing PP1 things but we took him to Grade One after engaging him because we realized PP1 was too low for him,” Ken Kugor, a teacher at Beadom Primary School, said a few years ago.
His parents are hopeful that the child’s unique talent will be nurtured and that someday, he will achieve his dream of becoming a pilot.
