Before an emotional audience of hundreds of Rwandan youth, senior government officials, the Israeli Ambassador, and UCI leaders, Israel – Premier Tech inaugurated the Home of Dreams – the final phase of its one-of-a-kind cycling center in Africa, already a resounding success story across the continent, on Wednesday
The Home of Dreams, constructed with the support of team partners Sylvan Adams, Ron Baron and Jean Bélanger, together with other philanthropic supporters, will serve as the beating heart of the complex. It includes a cycling academy, a bike workshop, locker rooms and showers, an indoor training hall, and a cafeteria — offering thousands of children free access to bikes and training.
The inauguration completes a four-year project that has revolutionized cycling in Rwanda: establishing the nation’s first women’s cycling team, hosting training camps, and building world-class facilities including Africa’s leading pump track and a professional racing circuit.
Serge Gasore, survivor of the Rwandan genocide, founder of the community center that donated the land for the project, and partner of Israel – Premier Tech in Bugesera, said: “What happened before our eyes is the transformation we dreamed of – thousands of children coming to ride and to grow, both as cyclists and as human beings. Thanks to the center we can now provide jobs for our women riders as coaches and managers. And now – you have built them the home they deserve: the Home of Dreams. We will forever be indebted to the team for what it has created here.”
Gasore, whose grandmother was murdered shielding him at the age of eight, revealed publicly for the first time an astonishing personal story. He said: “Those who slaughtered us used to stop the killing every day at 5 p.m. They would go to eat and drink in a nearby field until the next morning, when they resumed their terrible campaign. Their resting place was exactly here – in the field where we have now built the Home of Dreams. That site of horror has been transformed into a site of hope.”
The UCI has officially recognized the Bugesera cycling hub as a Continental Satellite Center, already hosting three training camps for riders and coaches from across Africa — including from Muslim-majority nations.
Sylvan Adams, Israel – Premier Tech owner, added: “2,000 youngsters already ride here every month, and now with the new Home of Dreams thousands more will join. This is our Tikkun Olam — our commitment to repair the world. We will continue to develop this center.”
The launch took place during the historic UCI Road World Championships, hosted in Africa for the first time ever — a milestone in the continent’s rapid cycling growth. Among the participants are IPT riders Marco Frigo, Krists Neilands, Nadav Raisberg, Imry Faingezicht, and last year’s Tour du Rwanda winner Joe Blackmore.
Nelly Mukazayire, Rwanda’s Minister of Sports, said: “You have invested in the future of our children — and we are already seeing the results.”
Richard Mutabazi, Mayor of Bugesera: added: “This center has become a beacon of hope and excellence. It will make these children not only winners on the race track, but in life itself.”