While the world prepares to discover Rwanda through the Road Cycling World Championships, there are small local realities in Kigali that will become protagonists these days: if the future lies in children's eyes, Rwanda's children have transformed into artists and jugglers. It will be the children and youth of the Artistic Cycling Club Kigali who, with their bike acrobatics, will open the Visit Center Rwanda, the organizational headquarters of the World Championships.

Jonathan Irakiza, one of the instructors who seeks to save Rwanda's children through acrobatic cycling, improving their social and cultural situation, tells us the story of ACC Kigali. "For young people in Kigali's poor neighborhoods, opportunities often seem simply unattainable," Jonathan Irakiza explained. "We thought about how to help them by simply taking them off the streets, and cycling, which happens right on the street, seemed the most suitable option for them. We created an artistic cycling program with the intent of offering not just a creative outlet, but also a lifeline for self-esteem."

Jonathan Irakiza is a skilled gymnastics teacher at the Ineza Dance Studio in Kigali and is among the creators of the East Africa Circus Festival.

"Initially, our project was aimed at vulnerable children from disadvantaged neighborhoods. Later, we realized that artistic cycling in Kigali needed to become a sport like any other." The children of the Artistic Cycling Club Kigali are between 6 and 16 years old and make no distinctions between boys and girls, although girls often do not participate because they must take care of younger siblings.

Wineza Keza Sabrin is part of the team, 13 years old, who after her father's death found herself wandering the streets because no one was taking care of her. Today Wineza is a cyclist who does acrobatics on her bike and has rediscovered hope and the desire to look towards the future.

Many children have been saved thanks to these bikes, perhaps a bit worn and not completely safe, but the smile every time they take one cancels out the suffering they have already faced as children. "At the moment, we have no support from anyone. We mobilize our resources, equipment, and sponsors. We hope that the Ministry of Sports and the Federation can help us fully exploit our potential. This year, my kids participated for the first time in the East Africa Circus Festival, and people loved them immensely, and this success helped their self-esteem. I would only want them to improve their condition through sports, and if someone truly looks at us, perhaps they might decide to invest in our project."

The ACC Kigali trains every day on the street, and this is how they manage to convince other kids to join the project. Today and tomorrow, they will be the protagonists of the Cycling World Championship in Kigali and will be able to offer all guests a show built with the effort and dreams of many children who want to become athletes.

Currently, Rwanda is a pioneer and a unique pole for artistic cycling in Africa. There are no reports of other teams with programs like theirs in other African countries, and now, with the world championship in Kigali, they will be able to show their talent and realize the dream they are pursuing with hard work and determination.