Youngest national awardee wants to be PM: Superboy returns

FIVE years after he was awarded the Humming Bird (bronze) medal for gallantry, nine-year-old Kal-el Alleyne hopes to continue saving others by becoming a police officer and then prime minister.

The standard three student of La Pastora Government Primary School became a national talking point in August 2015 after he helped rescue his mother and aunt who were trapped in their car after an accident along the North Coast Road.

On August 18, 2015, just around 4.37 pm, the white Nissan B14 driven by his mother veered off the road, down a precipice. Kal-el was thrown through the back glass of the vehicle, but, luckily, was not seriously injured.

On the urging of his mother and aunt who were trapped in the car, Kal-el climbed up to the roadway and alerted passing drivers who helped the women.

His mother, Amanda Graham suffered a broken sternum and broken left rib, along with cuts and bruises. She spent a week in hospital. His aunt, Antonia Graham who was pinned inside the car, broke her arm was hospitalised for two weeks. Kal-el spent one night at hospital under observation, just to ensure he suffered no injuries.

Newsday met the young hero on Tuesday and learnt of his plans to use policing to catapult him into politics and one day become the Prime Minister.

“I want to be a police officer but my cousin and my father don’t want that. I want to be promoted from police officer to Prime Minister. I want to start off small then head from big to bigger.”

Kal-el said he watched “cop shows” with his grandfather and they inspired him to become a police officer. He hopes to become prime minister to “make good decisions.” This dream, he said, will be fulfilled at 23.

A police officer and prime minister are his “two favourite work things.” He described Dr Rowley as “quite good” and someone who is doing the right things “these days.”

Does he ever tried to guilt-trip his mother into giving him what he wants given his heroism which saved her life? Kal-el said bluntly, “That will never happen!” Apart from the medal and praises, he was gifted a Play Station 4 video game console that year for Christmas.

The birth of Kal-el

Superman is a fictional superhero who first appeared in American comic books produced by DC Comics. As the story goes, Superman was given the name Kal-El at birth on the planet Krypton. He escaped the planet in a spaceship moments before it was destroyed in a natural cataclysm.

Amanda Graham explained she named her child after the last Kryptonian because of a crush she had on Dean Cain, the actor who played Superman in the TV series. (She's now more interested in another Superman actor – Henry Cavill – with whom Kal-el was supposed to have a conversation with in 2015, but that didn't materialise.

When Kal-el received his award on Independence Day, he was immortalised in a photograph of him giving then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar a bounce (fist bump). His mother explained that it was Persad-Bissessar who offered it and Kal-el responded.

The moment of receiving the award was “exciting” he said.

Does Kal-el see himself as a hero? “I always do," he said. "After the accident, every year it reminds me that I am very special.”

Since “every superhero deserves a break,” Kal-el said he tried contacting his MP Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly to get a home for him and his mother alone since he is tired of doing housework. The plan was that a new home meant less housework at his grandparents' home, a view not shared by his mother who reminded him that he will have more work to do if his scheme was successful.

Defender of justice

Since the heroic feat, Kal-el has had life pretty easy until about two years ago when he was faced with bullies at school. After unsuccessful attempts at rectifying the situation through dialogue, he took matters into his own hands, quite literally, and fought the bullies after describing it as an endless thing.

“After a year or more I stood up to some standard fives. I did not allow them to bully me, but they chose to at certain times. Sometimes the bully doesn’t come (to school) and I said that was a good time for me to strike at their weak point.

“The stronger person left, so I took care of the rest and left the big one for last. I beat a bunch of standard fours and fives.”

He later told Newsday, “I will like the world to know that I am always there for them, one way or the other. I will be kind and always help people. I will never, ever – and I mean ever, be a bully. No matter what the cost!”

His kryptonite

Like Superman, Kal-el too has a weakness. His kryptonite is junk food.

Given the opportunity to be any superhero, he wants to be Bartholomew “Barry” Allen (The Flash). His reasoning is simple. The Flash can time travel and in less time than the “man of steel.”

When schools were closed in March because of the covid19 pandemic, Kal-el teamed up with his aunt Andrea Graham-Hosein and started selling popcorn on weekends.

Graham-Hosein owns the tongue-twisting business Ummm Scrump-ti-ta-tious, and together they added popcorn to the list of items for sale. Kal-el said he enjoys it because he gets 20 per cent of the sales. For him it is a double delight. He gets to eat popcorn at will (insisting not from the bags he is selling) and he earns cash while doing so.

He is, however, looking forward to the reopening of public parks so he can go to Nelson Mandela Park where he makes friends easily.