The day that Tony Mutabazi was adopted from the foster care system was the most beautiful day ever.
Unfortunately, the boy was abandoned by his biological parents at the age of 2. But, when he thought there was no more hope for him to live in a happy family forever, a single dad made him believe otherwise.
Throughout the years, Tony was in and out of foster care system-he actually spent 4 years in total in foster homes.
Although one couple from Oklahoma adopted the boy when he was 4, seven years later, they decided to give him away; they were either unable to continue caring for him or simply no longer wanted.
Believe it or not, they dropped him off to a hospital and said they won’t be coming back for him and drove off without giving explanation.
Tony’s Life Changes when He Met Peter
In 2018, January, the foster care worker Jessica Ward called Peter Mutabazi, a foster parent for 3 years.
She wanted to ask him if he could take Tony for the weekend. When she told him the story about Tony, Peter knew he couldn’t leave him to wander in-and-out of the foster care system.
He’s well aware of how tough it is for older children to be adopted. He says he had to take him in.
He became his foster parent for 2 years until it was all cleared and they signed the adoption papers. Now, at the age of 13, Tony finally had a forever home.
The Amazing Story of Peter Mutabazi
Tony’s story moved Peter because of a similar experience he had while growing up. At the age of 10, he ran away because of his abusive parents in Uganda and found himself on his own.
But, luckily, he found a parental figure that helped him go through school and raised him. They became his sponsors and his family.
Before he moved to the US, he says he was growing up with the poorest people in the world and no one told him to dream-they told him there was no future for him.
When he became an adult, he moved to the US and now he’s a citizen here. He has been the foster parents of 12 children and works in the World Vision US and helps children living in difficult and disadvantaged places.
Peter said about Tony that it was love at first sight-he knew it right away from the moment he met the boy that he wanted to call him his son.
He says Tony is the smartest and nicest kid he knows and loves how he calls him dad from day one.
He truly means this and looks up to him.
The father and son living in North Carolina and will have another foster child joining their family soon.
Sadly, despite this being a successful adoption story, not all children in the foster care in the US are as lucky. Unfortunately, there are around 443,000 children waiting to find a forever home.
To help, you can:
- Foster a child
- Consider adopting a child
- Donate to groups that support these children
- Donate to foster families
- Become a volunteer
- Become a mentor
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