Showing Your Child Their True Worth

Today, Peter Mutabazi is an entrepreneur, an international advocate for children, and the founder of Now I Am Known, a corporation that supplies resources that encourage and affirm children.

Peter’s passion for advocacy began in a small village in Uganda on the border of Rwanda. His father was abusive, beat the family, and frequently told Peter that he regretted having him as a son. Peter didn’t even have a name until he was two years old! In grade school, fearful that his father would kill him, Peter ran away to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, seeking a better life on the streets.

One day, he approached a tourist with the intent of robbing him. Instead, the tourist looked him in the eye and asked, “What’s your name?”

No one had asked Peter that before.

The tourist, a man named James who was associated with Compassion International, fed Peter and told him every day that he was worthy of love. Over time, Peter trusted James and started to believe that he really did have value as a person.

Peter eventually attended boarding school and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Makerere University in Kampala. After moving to the United States, he spent 11 years traveling to Africa with pastors and Christian singers. One year, he took a safari with a pastor who connected him to the foster care system in the United States. Since then he has fostered 34 children and adopted one.

Fostering holds a special place in our hearts here at Focus on the Family. We’ve invited Peter Mutabazi to be with us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Showing Your Child Their True Worth” to share his story.

Peter believes you can impact children for a lifetime by verbally encouraging them and connecting with their desire to dream, to be known, and to be loved.

Hear how Peter went from a child on the street to a foster dad on your local radio station, online, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or take us with you on our free phone app.

Peter Mutabazi’s book Now I am Known: How a Street Kid Turned Foster Dad Found Acceptance and Worth is available for a gift of any amount. Click here for more information.

Even if you don’t feel led to adopt a child yourself, there are other ways to engage. There are a lot of ways to play a part if you’re willing. Jean and I have done both foster care and respite care – coming around foster families and support them in their efforts. That could be taking the kids for a weekend, providing meals, doing laundry, or coming alongside a family prayerfully and emotionally.

For information on where to start, visit our Wait No More program here. We’ll help you discover what you can do to step into the life of a foster child in the name of Christ.