Texas State student puts life on pause to adopt baby he found abandoned in trash pile in Haiti
SAN MARCOS, Texas - A Texas State student from Haiti is making headlines after his mission to adopt a baby he found in the trash back home went viral.
Jimmy Amisial, 27, attended Texas State University as a communications major. In 2017, he went home to Haiti to visit family for the new year.
That's where he found now-4-year-old Emilio Angel Jeremiah, just four months old at the time, abandoned in a pile of trash.
"You could see him crying, and he had no clothes on, and he had fire ants crawling all over him," Amisial explained.
He says because of Haitian superstitions a group of people surrounding the baby were too afraid to rescue him.
"No one wanted to touch the baby because they thought the baby was cursed, they were like it's New Year's Eve, the devil is trying to get us," said Amisial.
However, Amisial, who often volunteers at orphanages, in Haiti said he didn't hesitate to pick the baby up and take him home.
Haitian officers and a judge came to his family home, and they asked Amisial, just 22 years old and a college student, if he wanted to become the baby's legal guardian.
"Even though I didn't know how I was going to take care of him I took a leap of faith by saying yes," Amisial said.
Since taking on the responsibility, Amisial has struggled financially. He had to take time off from school to support Emilio and his mother, who's taking care of him back in Haiti.
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Amisial says the adoption process in his home country is expensive and hidden fees can come out of nowhere, but he says he doesn't regret this journey or his decision to become a single father one bit.
"Whenever he's talking to me, he's saying ‘oh daddy I need this, I need that. I need a tablet, buy me a bike’; he has someone he can go to and ask for stuff, and I'm very proud of that," Amisial said.
Amisial started a fundraiser and has raised more than $60,000, meaning he's now able to afford Emilio's adoption expenses. He says his goal is to bring him to the United States as soon as he can. He tells FOX 26 that any leftover funds will help him finish college and assist with baby Emilio's future, he also wants to help orphanages back in Haiti.
You can find more information about that fundraiser by clicking here.