Thousands of children enter foster care every year in the United States. It's a depressing and, at times, very broken system.
But today, we get a much happier story. A boy is taken out of the system for good and finds his family.
A man named Peter Mutabazi has adopted his son, Anthony.
Peter spent a lot of time taking in foster children when he lived in Oklahoma. He had just finished with two brothers when he was called for another child.
A social worker called him and asked,
"Can you take in an 11-year-old boy just for the weekend?"
Peter didn't think he had it in him. It was difficult cycling through children in foster care.
He agreed to take the boy for just the weekend. The social worker drove two hours from another county in Oklahoma to drop off Anthony in the middle of the night.
Little did Peter know, this would change his life.
After the weekend, Peter asked the social worker about Anthony's history.
The boy was abandoned at the age of two. He was adopted by a family, elders of the church even, but they also abandoned him years later.
They left him at a hospital and gave up parental rights.
Peter explained,
"He asked if his parents were coming to get him and they said no."
Peter couldn't sit with this. He had to take the boy in.
"By that time, I was crying. I thought, 'Who would do that?' Once I knew the parents' rights were signed off and he had nowhere to go, I had to take him."
Fast forward two years and the adoption is finalized.
Peter himself didn't have an easy time growing up. He was born in a small village in Uganda. In addition to growing up poor, he also suffered abuse at the hands of his father.
One night, Peter was sent out to get cigarettes for his father. On his way home, it started raining, ruining the cigarettes.
Rather than go home to face the wrath of his abusive father, Peter ran away.
Eventually, Peter was able to come to the United States, start a business, and live a pretty comfortable life.
He's been a foster parent for three years but is now a full parent after adopting Anthony.
The adoption was finalized when the two moved to North Carolina. Anthony obviously had some issues due to the abandonment, but Peter is prepared to handle things as they come.
"I had the room, the resources, so I had no reason to let him go. For what someone did for me I wanted to do something for someone else."
The two enjoy movies, board games and bike rides. They are even preparing to take on another foster child.
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