Focus on the Family Magazine - April/May 2023

KIDS & TEENS / ADVOCACY
Peter as an older teen
Living on the streets
In Kampala, I realized I could live as a street kid, finding family
among the many other children who survived by stealing
food, eating out of garbage bins and sleeping under bridges
and buildings. I lived like this for nearly five years, going by the
name Habi, until someone who cared finally asked me
my name.
A stranger named James noticed me—a young man with
no education but lots of street smarts—and saw potential in
me. He enrolled me in boarding school, paying the fee on my
behalf. There, I not only was able to attend school but also had
regular meals and a place to sleep.
Finally I had a future. I also discovered that God loved me.
Eventually I put my faith in Jesus and my future in His hands.
It took a post-genocide trip to Rwanda with a relief organization—and
seeing what hatred can do—to bring me to the point
of forgiving my father.
Peter’s first visit to England
I wanted to help
children just as
I had been helped,
but the door
seemed closed.
Stepping into a new life
I did well in school, completing high school and moving on to
university in Uganda, where I studied business administration
and worked for a variety of international relief agencies.
I later attended university in the United Kingdom, eventually
applying for and receiving a scholarship to study in the United
States at The Master’s University in California. When I arrived in
the States, I struggled with my faith because of the things I saw.
So much food was thrown away, yet I knew that many kids in
my own village would lose their lives because they didn’t have
a bowl of beans. I could not understand God’s love or why He
allowed these things.
With my international experience and understanding of a
variety of cultures, I soon found a niche that involved traveling
with families who were adopting internationally. The couples
were always white, leading me to think that I—a single black
man—wouldn’t be able to adopt or become a foster parent,
one of the dreams I had for my life. I wanted to help children
just as I had been helped, but the door seemed closed.
When I was in Ethiopia, I asked if it was possible for me to
adopt. They told me that I had to be American or European
and that only single women, not men, were allowed to adopt. I
wasn’t an American citizen at the time, so I knew there was no
chance.
While working as an advocate for vulnerable children in the
U.S. and internationally, I learned more about the foster care
process and the deep needs of children who enter care. This,
I decided, was truly my calling. I took to heart Luke 12:48:
“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be
required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they
will demand the more.”
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FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
APRIL / MAY 2023