Some stories soften even the hardest corners of the heart.
This is one of those stories—a story about a boy who waited his entire childhood for someone to love him, and a father who understood exactly what that kind of loneliness feels like.
It is a story of abandonment, hope, healing, and the kind of love that chooses you and never lets go.
This is the story of Tony Mutabazi, a boy who entered the foster care system at age two… was adopted at age four… and then, unbelievably, abandoned again at age eleven.
It is also the story of Peter Mutabazi, a single man who once ran away from an abusive home in Uganda -and who understood, more than anyone, what it means to be unwanted.
And it is the story of how these two found each other, and built a home filled with safety, joy, laughter, and second chances.
A Boy Who Kept Waiting for Someone to Come Back
Tony’s journey began with hardship most adults could not endure, let alone a toddler. At just two years old, he entered the foster care system. Shortly afterward, he was adopted by a couple in Oklahoma.
For a while, life seemed stable.
A home.
Parents.
A routine.
School.
Friends.
But at age eleven, Tony learned that even the walls of an adoptive home can crumble without warning.
One day, his adoptive parents took him to a hospital.
He waited.
And waited.
And waited.
He asked the staff,
“Are my parents coming back?”
They told him the truth:
“No.”
They were not coming back.
They were not returning for him.
They had signed their rights away.
Imagine that moment through the eyes of a child.
Imagine the confusion.
The fear.
The heartbreak of realizing you are unwanted – again.
For two years, Tony lived without a permanent home, carrying the weight of a double abandonment that no child should ever experience.
But his story was not over.
His miracle just hadn’t arrived yet.
A Weekend Visit That Changed Everything
On January 16, 2018, foster care worker Jessica Ward called a man she trusted.
His name was Peter Mutabazi, a foster dad known for opening his home to children in need.
“Can you take a boy for the weekend?” she asked.
Just one weekend.
Peter agreed – without knowing that this boy would soon change his life.
When Tony arrived, Peter was expecting a temporary guest.
But then he heard the truth.
Jessica told him the story of what happened at the hospital.
How Tony had asked for his parents.
How he had been left behind.
Peter felt his heart break.
“By that time, I was crying,” he said. “Who would do that to a child?”
That was all he needed to hear.
In that moment, Peter made a decision.
A decision that would turn a lost boy into a beloved son.
“From Day One, He Called Me Dad” – A Bond That Formed Instantly
Something remarkable happened the moment Tony walked into Peter’s home.
Tony didn’t act like a temporary visitor.
He wasn’t shy.
He wasn’t distant.
He looked at Peter with hope – real hope.
“From day one,” Peter said, “he called me Dad.”
And he meant it.
“He’s the nicest, smartest kid I’ve ever had,” Peter told Good Morning America. “He’s proud to show me at school and say, ‘Hey, he’s my dad.’”
It was obvious that Tony wasn’t just trying to fill a gap.
He truly saw Peter as the father he had prayed for.
And Peter?
Peter saw himself in Tony – painfully and clearly.
Why Peter Couldn’t Turn Away: A Childhood He Will Never Forget
Peter grew up in Uganda in extreme poverty.
“I was among the poorest of the poor,” he said.
“There was no future for me. No one told me to dream.”
By age ten, he fled from an abusive home and ended up in a nearby town.
There, a stranger – a complete stranger – took him in, paid his school fees, and changed his life forever.
“That man became my sponsor, my family,” Peter said. “He showed me what love looks like.”
Someone rescued him.
Someone gave him a chance.
Peter never forgot it.
And when he met Tony – a child who had been abandoned twice – he recognized that same pain.
“I had the room, the resources, so I had no reason to let him go,” Peter said. “For what someone did for me, I wanted to do for someone else.”
A lost boy.
A man who knew what it meant to be alone.
Two hearts with the same scars.
It was a perfect match.
A Forever Family Built With Love, Laughter & Healing
The weekend visit turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into months.
Months turned into a bond so strong that everyone around them could see it.
They rode bicycles.
Read books.
Played board games.
Watched movies.
Talked about life.
Shared their fears and dreams.
Peter gave Tony what he needed most:
Safety.
Consistency.
A father’s love.
And Tony gave Peter what he never expected:
A son who admired him, trusted him, and chose him.
The Adoption Day That Brought Everyone to Tears
After nearly two years of building a home together, Peter made it official.
On November 12, 2019, Peter and Tony walked hand-in-hand into a Charlotte, North Carolina courtroom.
Surrounded by friends, foster care workers, and loved ones, Tony officially became a Mutabazi.
Photographer Cole Trotter captured the moment – Tony’s smile wide, Peter’s eyes full of pride, and the room bursting with love.
The judge welcomed Tony into his forever family.
Cheers filled the courtroom.
A boy who once waited at a hospital for parents who would never return…
now had a father who promised he would always show up.
A Social Worker’s Words: “Once He Took Him In, That Was It”
Jessica Ward – the same worker who placed Tony with Peter – explained why this adoption was so special.
“Tony had trauma from foster care and from being abandoned,” she said. “Peter knew that once he took him in, that was it. He wasn’t going anywhere.”
She also believes Peter’s childhood in Uganda helped him deeply connect with Tony.
“Because of what Peter experienced as a child, he understood Tony better than anyone,” she said. “Their bond is truly beautiful.”
A Father and Son Who Continue to Open Their Hearts
Even after adopting Tony, Peter didn’t stop caring for others.
He continues to foster children, opening his heart and home to those who need love the most.
And Tony?
He’s excited to welcome a new foster sibling into their family.
Their home is now a place of healing, growth, and generosity – a place built on the belief that love multiplies, it never divides.
Tony’s Forever Home: Proof That Love Always Arrives on Time
Tony’s story could have ended in heartbreak.
But instead, it became a story of hope.
Of healing.
Of chosen family.
Of two lives that rescued each other.
A boy who longed for a father.
A man who longed to give the love he once received.
This is what family truly means:
Not shared blood-
but shared love.
Not perfect beginnings-
but new beginnings.
Not who leaves—
but who stays.
And Peter stayed.
Forever.
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