Peter Mutabazi, who originally hailed from Uganda and ran away from his abusive home at 10 and found a parent figure who guided him through school has himself adopted Tony Mutabazi, whose parents abandoned him.
Of his own difficult childhood and guardians who changed his trajectory, Peter Mutabazi said: “They became my sponsor, my family. I grew up the poor of the poorest people on the planet. I grew up where no one told me to dream, that there was no future for me.”
Mutabazi eventually moved to the United States and became a citizen. He works with the nonprofit organization World Vision United States, which helps kids living in vulnerable areas. He’s fostered 12 children.
And on Nov. 12, Tony Mutabazi got adopted in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tony had been in the foster care system since the age of 2, and at the age of 4, was adopted by a couple in Oklahoma.
However, when 11, Tony’s adopted parents left him at a hospital and never returned, according to Mutabazi and foster care worker Jessica Ward.
“He asked if his parents were coming to get him and they said no,” Mutabazi said. “[We have] no idea why.” On Jan. 16, 2018, Mutabazi received a call from Ward asking if he could host Tony for the weekend at home.
When Mutabazi, however, learned of the tough background of the youth he was heartbroken.
“By that time, I was crying. I thought, ‘Who would do that?'” Mutabazi said. “Once I knew the parents’ rights were signed off and he had nowhere to go, I [knew] I had to take him.
“He’s the nicest, smartest kid I’ve ever had,” Mutabazi told Good Morning America. “From day one, he’s always called me ‘dad.’ He truly meant it and he looks up to me. He’s proud to show me at school and say, ‘Hey, he’s my dad.’ That’s something that I love about him.”
After meeting Tony, Mutabazi decided to legally become his father.
“I had the room, the resources, so I had no reason to let him go,” Mutabazi said. “For what someone did for me I wanted to do something for someone else.”
Tony’s adoption was made official in a Charlotte courthouse. The moment was captured by photographer Cole Trotter among Mutabazi’s family and friends.
Mutabazi said he and Tony enjoy watching movies, playing board games, reading books and bicycling together.
Ward, who works with Angels Foster Family Network in Edmond, Oklahoma, said she helped facilitate Tony’s adoption, which was eventually finalized when Mutabazi and Tony moved from Oklahoma to North Carolina. A fitting ending then as a black father adopts a white boy, a departure from norm.
Little is known about Tony’s birth parents.
