Single Father Changes The Lives Of 2 Siblings After They Were Forgotten By Their Parents

Nov 27, 2023 by apost team

Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they simply decide to make a big difference in the lives of children. Whether it be fostering or adopting children, an individual who decides to take on this huge responsibility and commitment can really make an important impact.

Adoption often becomes difficult for single adults, especially when multiple children are involved in the adoption. But for someone like Peter Mutabazi, who has been considered a veteran when it comes to the foster care system, he had taken in at least 36 children throughout his time as a resource parent. Mutabazi experienced a difficult childhood himself, growing up in the country of Uganda in Africa. Learning and growing from the situations he faced, the foster dad decided to dedicate his life to helping other vulnerable children. 

In fact, he even took in a 7-year-old boy who had nowhere to go during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic due to many places being shut down or closed temporarily on account of lockdown restrictions. 

Mutabazi struck the hearts of many people in the United States and even worldwide when his story of adopting 13-year-old Anthony made waves. Mutabazi found the young boy at a hospital and took him home before eventually adopting him in November 2019. In a beautiful turn of events, the two have been able to build a special father-son relationship and have even done their part to help others as well. 

In September 2023, Mutabazi was in tears as he introduced the new addition to his colorful family – Luke and Isabella. 

Anthony entered the foster care system when he was only 2 years old, according to Republic World. He was adopted by a couple in Oklahoma two years later. Unfortunately, they later left him at a hospital when he was 11 and never returned. Mutabazi received a call from a local foster care ward in January 2018 and found out about Anthony’s situation.

Mutabazi told Good Morning America in 2020 that he knew he had to take Anthony home with him after finding out his parents had left him at the hospital. “Once I knew the parents’ rights were signed off and he had nowhere to go, I (knew) I had to take him,” he said. According to Republic World, he was only supposed to take in Anthony for a couple of nights but ended up taking him in full-time and later adopted him on Nov. 12, 2019.

Shortly afterward, the two relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. During an interview with Good Morning America, Mutabazi talked about how he wanted to continue fostering children, and Anthony was perfectly happy with the idea of allowing other disadvantaged children to live with them in order to help them. This was all easier said than done, as moving and taking in a new foster child provides a lot of complications, especially in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. The approval process took close to one year to be finalized.

After finally settling in together and becoming inseparable, the pair were introduced to a new opportunity. Mutabazi and Anthony’s social worker had found a 7-year-old boy who needed a home and thought that they could be the right fit. 

“He’s proud to show me at school and say, ‘hey, he’s my dad.’ That’s something that I love about him,” Mutabazi said about his foster son.

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In October 2023, People Magazine reported that Mutabazi had finalized the adoption process of two siblings: 8-year-old Isabella and 7-year-old Luke. Isabella and Luke came to Mutabazi in North Carolina as foster kids. 

Social workers at the time said that it was only a temporary placement as the parents had to deal with their drug-related issues for about four months. However, in about eight months, the children’s biological parents stopped visiting and calling them. 

"I'm a Black guy, they are white kids," he says after saying that he would have expected a relative to raise the children. "They're looking for a family member. But that never happened. No one took them in, no one claimed them."

In April 2023, the biological parents terminated their parental rights on the children and Mutabazi knew then that he could finally be the children’s “dad.” 

However, it wasn’t just a celebration; Mutabazi recalled crying all day. 

“The kids literally have a parent they dreamt could come back for them. But they’ve just given up. It’s a loss. I felt the loss for them.”

Eventually, Mutabazi broke the news to the children, saying that their biological parents decided that “they don’t want to be parents.” 

In September 2023, Mutabazi went to the courthouse with the children to officially fill out the paperwork to finalize the adoption process. He described the day to be “bittersweet.” 

“It was sad as well, because it was the same place that the kids always visited their parents.” At one point, the kids even asked if their biological parents would be there, but they weren’t. 

“That really broke my heart,” Mutabazi admitted. “The last time they had been there was to see their parents.”

What did you think of this heartwarming story? Do you know someone who underwent a similar journey in life? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family members and friends.