Single dad adopts teen boy who was left in a hospital when he was 11 years old

When he was 13, Tony Mutabazi still didn’t know who his birth parents were. He had been in foster care since the age of 2, and at the age of 4, a couple from Oklahoma adopted him.

A few years later, however, his foster parents did the unthinkable – they left him at a hospital and never returned.

Tony asked foster care worker Jessica Ward if his parents were coming to get him, but they said no.

None of them knew what prompted the couple’s sudden decision to leave the then 11-year-old boy. Thankfully, Tony wasn’t left alone for long.

On January 16, 2018, Jessica called Peter Mutabazi to see if he could let Tony stay with him for the weekend.

Peter has been a foster parent for three years, and he agreed to take in the boy for two days. However, his plans changed when he learned of Tony’s heartbreaking story.

“By that time, I was crying. I thought, ‘Who would do that?’” he told Good Morning America. “Once I knew the parents’ rights were signed off and he had nowhere to go, I [knew] I had to take him.”

Peter described Tony, the kid from foster care system, as the “nicest, smartest kid” he’s ever had. Since the first day, the boy has called him ‘dad,’ and that endeared him more to Peter.

It made him feel that Tony genuinely looked up to him. He also loved showing him off when they’re in school; Tony would go and tell everyone that Peter is his dad.

The duo has been together ever since Tony’s supposed-to-be two-day stay. And on November 12, 2019, the day they’ve been waiting for finally came – Peter became Tony’s legal father.

The foster dad’s family and friends gathered in a Charlotte courthouse to witness the adoption.

Photographer Cole Trotter was there to capture the special moment, so the father and son could look back on their photos and remember this joyous day.

Peter understood the plight of foster children because he had a troubled childhood himself.

In his 2022 book, “Now I Am Known: How a Street Kid Turned Foster Dad Found Acceptance and True Worth,” Peter shares how he fled his home at age 10 to escape an abusive parent.

For five years, he survived on the streets of Kampala by carrying groceries for money. Often, his only food came from a piece of fruit taken from shoppers’ bags.

One day, a stranger approached him and simply asked for his name—a question that shocked him after years of being ignored.

This moment changed his life. The man later enrolled him in school and became his father figure.

“They became my sponsor, my family. I grew up the poor of the poorest people on the planet,” Peter recalled. “I grew up where no one told me to dream, that there was no future for me.”

He eventually settled in the United States and became a citizen. Peter works with World Vision United States, a nonprofit organization that helps children living in vulnerable areas.

He has fostered 12 kids, but when he met Tony, he knew that he wanted to be his legal father.

“I had the room, the resources, so I had no reason to let him go,” he said of his decision. “For what someone did for me, I wanted to do something for someone else.”

The father and son enjoy doing lots of fun activities together, such as watching movies, playing board games, reading books, and bicycling.

In September 2023, Peter officially adopted two siblings living with him for three years, according to CNN.

Isabella, 8, is the “boss” of the family, while her younger brother Luke, 7, is more reserved but warm-hearted.

Despite the racial differences—Peter is Black, and his adopted children from foster care system are White—he believes that love goes beyond race.

At 49, Mutabazi feels that the real essence of family lies in their bond, not their appearance.

“I’m a girl dad now. Sometimes it feels surreal,” he says. “I look at them and I can’t believe that they are my kids, they have my last name. I can’t believe that this once homeless and hopeless person has now created this crazy family filled with love.”

Watch the feature video of their family by WCNC: