Go Team Rwanda!

My friend Fasoul and his homemade soccer ball

In Rwanda, soccer is everywhere and kids will play with anything that they can fabricate into a soccer ball.  Logan, one of the guys with us, loved playing with both the students at the preschool and the street boys on Saturday morning.  The street boys were very fast and the game was INTENSE!  On our drive to Lake Kivu we passed several organized games happening on Sunday afternoon.  The significance of all this soccer became very real for me one night as I sat at the La Palm Hotel sipping a Fanta and waiting for the wi-fi to work...

On the television that night was a show interviewing South African dignitaries as they left a movie all about the 2010 World Cup.  The leaders were leaving the movie in tears!  One after one they shared how watching it all again made them swell with pride.  One leader actually said, "We have successfully rebranded South Africa."  In other words, no longer will they be identified by Apartied, but now as a country who hosted the world with poise, grace and celebration.  Truly, all of Africa celebrated as a continent last summer that for the first time they were found worthy host the cup.  For all people of the world national pride is important!

The street boy game in action

Although Rwanda didn't qualify for the 2010 World Cup and only sent four Olympians to Beijing in 2008, they are passionately working to compete with the best in the world.  We were able to see this first hand...

The Rwandan National Cycling Team

 

 

We stayed in the home of the first ever Rwandan National Cycling Team!  These guys are learning English in order to train more efficiently outside of Rwanda.  They are the real deal!  They left just before we did to travel to Brazil to participate in the Tour do Rio on July 27th.  They were very excited to share that they were the only team from Africa competing!  Their coach is American Jock Boyer.  He was the first American in the 1980s to compete in the Tour de France and his historic Ironhorse win set a record that lasted for 16 years!  He was so proud of his team and the gains they are making to make Rwanda proud. 

You can be part of thier journey and success!  Like Team Rwanda on Facebook, log onto teamrwandacycling.org to get to know the riders or even order some VERY cool cycling gear, or check out the Project Rwanda Coffee Bike at projectrwanda.org. For a country who lost numerous athletes and its entire sports program just 17 years ago in the genocide,  let's help them rebrand Rwanda as a country of world class cyclists!

Go Team Rwanda!!!